Open Thread – Tue 6 Dec 2020


Mary and Joseph on the Way to Bethlehem, Hugo van der Goes, 1475


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Zyconoclast
Zyconoclast
December 8, 2022 12:18 pm

The locals and the immigrant Muslims are at loggerheads in the Daehyeong-dong (neighbourhood) in Daegu city of South Korea. At the heart of the controversy lies a mosque, whose construction began in December 2020.

South Korea, known for dramas and pop culture, is increasingly faced with the challenge of a demographic shift. ‘Immigrants’ now constitute 3.3% of the total population, as per 2020 data and their numbers are expected to grow exponentially.

DrBeauGan
DrBeauGan
December 8, 2022 12:18 pm

Have some of you got bad gateway messages over the last hour?

Yes, on phone.

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 12:19 pm

Roger

But seriously, will the sum total of deaths, ilnessses and misery caused by covid restrictions ever be tallied?

Not by any element of officialdom.

calli
calli
December 8, 2022 12:20 pm

I reckon it was Wolfman LARPing John McLean and the blog was Nakatomi Tower.

He blew up the blog!

Happy Christmas.

H B Bear
H B Bear
December 8, 2022 12:32 pm

Not a germophobe, by any means, but a new study based on swabs from self-serve checkout screens gives me pause…seems a lot of people don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet.

They never have. Washing your hands a few times a day – especially if you’ve been out and about in public is a good habit to get into. Your mother was right – even Gargooglerys.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 12:35 pm

All fine here Dover. Incidentally the blog had been getting slower and slower, but is now fast again after your reset.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 12:42 pm

Allen West
stated on November 25, 2013 in comments on his blog:

“Black people kill more black people every six months than the KKK did in 86 years.”

Meanwhile

Why Are Black People Still Voting for Democrats? It’s Magic!

In 2020, 9,941 black people were murdered. Generally, 93% of black people are killed by other black people. In comparison, the Ku Klux Klan killed 3,446 people in their first 86 years of existence.

When we look at the body count, the KKK doesn’t compare to the Democrats’ policies when it comes to annihilating black people.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 12:45 pm

Prince suspected of plotting to be kaiser
Sarah MarshReuters
Thu, 8 December 2022 8:09AM

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss is one of the last descendants of a dynasty that once ruled over swathes of eastern Germany. He is suspected of hoping to become the country’s new leader in a violent coup to overthrow the democratic order.

The 71-year-old was one of 25 members and supporters of a far-right group planning the alleged putsch who were arrested early on Wednesday in nationwide raids, according to the authorities.

The real estate developer has for years publicly advocated the theory life was better worldwide under monarchy. He stems from House of Reuss, which for centuries ruled over parts of present-day Thueringen state until Germany’s 1918 revolution that led to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.

Neither the House of Reuss nor Prince Reuss’ Office responded to requests for comment.

He said in a 2019 speech to the World Web Forum – which describes itself as bringing together progressive minds to empower positive radical change – that in the principality of Reuss people led “happy lives” because the tax rate was just 10 per cent and the structures were “straightforward and transparent”.

“If things didn’t work well, you just went to the prince,” Heinrich said. “Who are you supposed to turn to today? Your parliamentarian, the local, federal or EU level? Good luck!”

In the speech, peppered with anti-Semitic conspiracies, he said Germany had been a vassal state government since World War II and needed to regain its sovereignty through a peace deal.

He said monarchies worldwide including that of France had been overthrown due to the meddling of foreign powers that wanted to establish corporate structures in the pursuit of profit. The people had suffered as a result, he said.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday Heinrich had reached out to representatives of Russia, whom the group saw as its central contact for establishing its new order. They said there was no evidence the representatives had reacted positively to the request. The Kremlin said there could be no question of any Russian involvement in the alleged plot.

Heinrich was arrested at his house in Frankfurt, led out by balaclava-clad policemen in handcuffs, sporting mustard-coloured corduroy trousers and a tartan-patterned jacket, with long grey hair.

Police also searched his hunting lodge in Thueringen where he was suspected of stockpiling weapons, according to the Ostthueringer newspaper. The state in eastern Germany is known for the long-standing strength there of the far right.

The federal prosecutors’ office declined to comment on the report, saying only there had been a raid in that area.

It also declined to comment on how, if at all, Heinrich was involved in the far-right “Reichsbuerger” movement, which denies the existence of the modern German state, and which prosecutors say inspired the group of suspects arrested.

The Reuss dynasty named all its male children Heinrich or Henry after the end of the 12th century in honour of Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, who bequeathed them the estates of Weida and Gera, now towns in Thueringen state.

While officially, there are no princes and princesses any more in Germany, some descendents like Heinrich have continued to use the title. He had named his real estate and financial services company, based in Frankfurt, the “Buero Prinz Reuss”.

The House of Reuss, currently headed by Heinrich XIV who lives in Austria, has previously distanced itself from Heinrich XIII, calling him a confused man peddling conspiracy theories, according to local media.

rosie
rosie
December 8, 2022 12:47 pm

Old people up here is masks too. Dirty, dingy things. They peer over the top of them with wary, frightened eyes.

Must be a localised problem, I don’t see anyone wearing dirty masks, if they are masked their eyes still look normal enough, especially the ones regularly attending mass.
Mask wearing is all over the shop, I’ve even seen unmasked Asian adults with masked up young children. Why bother?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 12:49 pm

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: JOHN MARINI ON TRUMP

Amidst the latest Trumpstorm (“Trumpenkampf“?), let’s revisit one of John Marini’s sage observations from way back in 2016 that is especially useful to keep in mind just now:

It is possible that the Trump phenomenon cannot be understood merely by trying to make sense of Trump himself. Rather, it is the seriousness of the need for Trump that must be understood in order to make sense of his candidacy.

Those most likely to be receptive of Trump are those who believe America is in the midst of a great crisis in terms of its economy, its chaotic civil society, its political corruption, and its inability to defend any kind of tradition—or a way of life derived from any kind of tradition—because of the transformation of its culture by the intellectual elites. This sweeping cultural transformation occurred almost completely outside the political process of mobilizing public opinion and political majorities.

The American people themselves did not participate or consent to the wholesale undermining of their way of life, which government and the bureaucracy helped to facilitate by undermining those institutions of civil society that were dependent upon a public defense of the old morality.

This great crisis has created the need for a Trump, or someone like Trump, and only those who recognize it as a crisis can be receptive to his candidacy.

How many people are “someone like Trump” on the scene just now? Gov. DeSantis, the nation turns its eyes to you.

From the Comments

– Trump is the result the failure of politicians over the last thirty years that resulted in the complete moral and financial decline of our Country.

People are fed up and are grasping at straws for anyone to come along and fix this decline.

The organized effort to destroy Trump by most of those in charge of our ‘independent’ agencies along with their media syncopates, foreign collaborators and even those in the Party’s banner Trump ran under show that the decline in the wealth and principles governing our Nation are being done with malice and forethought. We are being destroyed by our fellow citizens and they will not stop.

– Great Post, Steve!

Trump may not look ‘electable’ now, but the economic tsunami is heading our way fast. Larry Summers says we’re likely to have “a Wile E. Coyote moment” real soon – ouch !

The Brits wouldn’t put Churchill in until war was on top of them. They were desperate, and he led them to victory. We may see something similar here. Trump knows how to kick the economy into gear, he proved that last time.

The harder we crash, the better his chances are to win again in 2024.

– DeSantis is in the process of being bought . MSM will turn on him as soon as he is the nominee.

Learn to ballot harvest.

Speedbox
December 8, 2022 12:52 pm

I presume that Cats know Indonesia’s new sex outside marriage laws are very narrow as to who can actually be arrested/charged. Unmarried couples can only be prosecuted if they’re reported by a spouse, parents or their children – nobody outside those categories can lay a complaint meaning police cannot investigate.

This media confected ‘outrage’ seems more driven by the homosexual lobby. With regard to homosexuals, Indonesia has always been relatively ‘neutral’ having neither legalisation permitting or outlawing (excluding prostitution). But, at a minimum, homosexuals should be very discreet in Indonesia – it is a Muslim country – and some regions impose Sharia law.

Kneel
Kneel
December 8, 2022 12:54 pm

M0nty: “…the ones who organised the last riot are all in gaol…”

Yes in gaol, not prison – a legal difference. Most have not even been charged as yet – after more than 18 months! Many report being kept in solitary confinement, not being given medical aid when required, not allowed to shave, some even claiming they are not allowed access to legal advice!

The only person who died that day was one of the protestors, who was shot by a secret service agent, and said agent was given special treatment – as an officer of the law, he does NOT have the right to legal representation in any investigation into his actions, and CANNOT refuse to cooperate in such investigations, yet he wanted the representation and refused to cooperate without it. And his superiors gave that to him.

“Cruel and unusual” punishment for people not even arraigned yet, no “timely trial”, both likely in breach of their constitutional rights. Yet the left, those champions of the underdog, of the poor, of those trapped under the boot heel of the rich and powerful cheer this on, while the right, those champions of the elite, of the rich and those putting down the boot heels on the underdogs complain – while the press studiously ignores it as “old news”.

Compare this to those that rioted on 29th May, breaking down fences, setting a Whitehouse guard hut on fire, setting a church on fire, injuring 10’s if not 100’s of military or secret service personnel and causing the secret service so much concern that they “locked down” Trump in a secure bunker for his own safety. Not only where these rioters quickly charged, but they won their case because there were a lot of people all dressed the same (black shirt, pants, face mask, and cap) and no-one could be individually recognised in video of the event or with certainty by police. They then won a class action law suit for wrongful arrest and got millions in “compensation”! Meanwhile, the media laughed at Trump, saying he was “hiding” from “mostly peaceful” protestors.

Or make another comparison – protestors who gather and pray outside abortion clinics are charged with preventing access to a medical centre, while protestors who vandalise and even set fire to pregnancy assistance centres are not even identified, and are still free to continue their violence.

As usual, the speech of the right is violence and must be punished to the fullest extent of the law, while the violence of the left is excused as speech and even rewarded. If you think this can go on much longer, you are deranged. There will be an accounting at some point, and we can only hope that it doesn’t require or result in violence to get it. Yet the longer it goes on, the more likely it is that violence will indeed to required or be the result. Any such violence will surely be the fault of the left, yet they will claim they are the victims.

JMH
JMH
December 8, 2022 12:57 pm

dover0beachsays:
December 8, 2022 at 12:25 pm

I hope people reporting these bad gateway messages have not been getting them since my comment at 11am.

12.56 and all is well!

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 12:58 pm

dover0beachsays:
December 8, 2022 at 12:25 pm
I hope people reporting these bad gateway messages have not been getting them since my comment at 11am.

Not affecting me now.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 12:59 pm

The principle reason given for the trial not continuing was her mental health
There was a suicide attempt.
No doubt Higgins was getting death threats at all hours of the night.
… yet now she summons up the sane fortitude to declare she’ll enter the witness stand to fight against him.
No, she’s said she won’t leave those people who stood up for her in the lurch.
It’s the responsible thing to do.

Or, and stay with me here…

She could perform in one criminal trial, and then he wouldnt have any case to prosecute against any of her supporters as hed be a convicted rapist.

And as a bonus, a person who was vile enough (allegedly) to commit rape would be incarcerated protecting who knows how many other ladies.

There used to be a quaint old system in place to handle such matters, I wonder what happened to it?

rickw
rickw
December 8, 2022 12:59 pm

Fascists in white coats.

Not the first time.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
December 8, 2022 1:03 pm

Hopefully useful scam alert.

I’ve just received a letter from Coles Mastercard showing me as ‘C/O My Son (Authorised Representative)’.

I’ve never appointed said son as my authorised representative, but he was a victim of the Optus data hack.

There doesn’t appear to have been any unauthorised transactions, and I’ve obviously closed the account. However, Coles/NAB have gone into panic investigation mode trying to find out what has happened.

To me it suggests fraud based on fairly sophisticated data matching (and, potentially, weak systems at NAB).

Keep an eye out for strangeness in other accounts if you/relative have been compromised by Optus.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 1:04 pm

This is an interesting backdrop to the arrest of the 20+ people in Germany.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/angry-winter-germanys-monday-night-protests-unite-far-right-and-left


Observers have watched with varying degrees of fascination and horror to see in some cases the far-right and far-left in effect join forces for the first time to voice their anger, as a “heiße Herbst” (hot autumn) has turned into what organisers and media refer to as a “Wut Winter” (angry winter).

To what extent the collaboration was planned or not it is hard to say. But what has emerged is a growing sense of cooperation due to an overlap of issues, elegantly compared to a “horse shoe” shape (the ends of which curve towards each other). There are suggestions that there might even be the possibility of both camps – the far-right AfD and the far-left Die Linke, or breakaway elements of that party, Sahra Wagenknecht and her husband Oskar Lafontaine, the erstwhile Social Democrat finance minister – entering government together.

The attitude towards the protesters has also changed. In the not-too-distant past their demands were often interpreted as outrageous, or at best out of touch, but sympathy towards them is on the rise. In a recent poll by the broadcaster MDR, 80% said they could understand why people felt compelled to go out on to the streets.

Protest numbers may have fallen since the government introduced emergency measures in October to dampen the effect of high energy and living costs (colder weather may also have put people off, organisers admit), but a passionate core is still using the opportunity to vent its anger. Others are deciding whether to join in.

Standing by a camper van from which Glühwein is being dispensed and contemplating whether to join the protest or merely observe it from the sidelines, Johann Schroder asks: “Am I being radical if I decide to take part in a demonstration because I fear not being able to feed myself or heat my home – and what’s more … I don’t trust the powers-that-be to sort this out anytime soon, or come to that, to prevent war spreading to Germany?”

He concludes: “Well, that is a perverse insinuation.”

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 1:04 pm

“The 71-year-old was one of 25 members and supporters of a far-right group planning the alleged putsch … He said in a 2019 speech to the World Web Forum – which describes itself as bringing together progressive minds to empower positive radical change”

So he is a far-right lefty? Or is he a progressive far-righty? It is all so confusing. We should ask Kaiser Soros about this.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 1:05 pm

Kneelsays:
December 8, 2022 at 12:54 pm
M0nty: “…the ones who organised the last riot are all in gaol…”

Yes in gaol, not prison – a legal difference. Most have not even been charged as yet – after more than 18 months! Many report being kept in solitary confinement, not being given medical aid when required, not allowed to shave, some even claiming they are not allowed access to legal advice!

The only person who died that day was one of the protestors, who was shot by a secret service agent, and said agent was given special treatment – as an officer of the law, he does NOT have the right to legal representation in any investigation into his actions, and CANNOT refuse to cooperate in such investigations, yet he wanted the representation and refused to cooperate without it. And his superiors gave that to him.

“Cruel and unusual” punishment for people not even arraigned yet, no “timely trial”, both likely in breach of their constitutional rights. Yet the left, those champions of the underdog, of the poor, of those trapped under the boot heel of the rich and powerful cheer this on, while the right, those champions of the elite, of the rich and those putting down the boot heels on the underdogs complain – while the press studiously ignores it as “old news”.

Meanwhile in “The Land of the Free” – I mean “Gulags”

CALL TO ACTION: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Refuses To Allow J6 Political Prisoner Visitation…Even Computer Visitation After Nearly Two Years in DC Gulag

J6 political prisoners detained in the Washington DC jail are calling on patriots to demand that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser allow them visitation, even computer visitation with their families.

Bowser has revoked visitation privileges throughout the pandemic, including remote, online visitation, from unvaccinated inmates.

Desperate to see their families after languishing in solitary confinement for nearly two years, some of the inmates complied with the vaccine mandate just to see their loved ones again for a few minutes.

Despite getting the shot, they were still barred from visitors.

“Some of these political prisoners did comply and get vaccinated just to see their families and they’ve still prohibited them from visitation, so I don’t know what kind of seditious game they’re playing,” Micki Witthoeft, the mother of slain Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt previously told the Gateway Pundit. The political prisoners call into rallies hosted by Witthoeft outside of the DC jail every night since August 1.

In letters to the TGP, the political prisoners describe the inhumane conditions they continue to endure in while confined in the part of the jail correction officers call the “Patriot Pod.”

They are asking our readers to call Bowser’s office and tell her to adjust the city’s Covid policy to allow them visitation.

Shane Jenkins, a 45 year-old father of five from Texas, was arrested during an FBI raid on March 5, 2021.

“After my arrest, I was flown all over the nation and bused here and there until I ended up in Washington DC at the DC DOC on April 13, 2021. I have been here since then. I have not seen a friend, a loved one or any of my children in over 600 day,” Jenkins wrote. Typically institutions have a policy for visitation.

But Bowser continues to exploit the pandemic to make life a nightmare for the inmates.

“Even with the low-level transmission here in DC, we are still forced to wear masks, if we choose not to wear a mask we must remain in our cells.

The CDC has also updated its mask policy as of September 23, 2022, which includes health care facilities and hospitals, ‘people may choose to masks at any time. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with Covid-19 should wear a mask.’ I would imagine a hospital policy should be good enough for jail,” Jenkins wrote.

And America is supposedly “The Land of the Free” – I will take Putin, and Commonsense Russia ,any day!

Jorge
Jorge
December 8, 2022 1:06 pm

…… specifically, a brand known as GREEN’S

…..

Their rum balls (ahem) on the shelves now for Christmas, shatterzzz.
Too damned sweet. Better to make your own.

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 1:08 pm

Kneelsays:
December 8, 2022 at 12:54 pm
M0nty: “…the ones who organised the last riot are all in gaol…”

Yes in gaol, not prison – a legal difference. Most have not even been charged as yet – after more than 18 months!

m0nty=fa has been challenged multiple times to tell us how many of the January 6 people have been indicted, tried, convicted or sentenced for the crime of Insurrection in the 23 months since January 6. He has not responded.

Given his propensity to gloat over such things, I think we can be confident that the number indicted, tried, convicted or sentenced for the crime of Insurrection remains at zero, zilch, nil, none, nada, bugger all. Apart from the gross human rights breaches occurring in Washington DC, the so-called insurrection seems to be a great big nothingburger, being exploited for the political advantage of the fascist left.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 1:10 pm

I presume that Cats know Indonesia’s new sex outside marriage laws are very narrow as to who can actually be arrested/charged.

Speedy – I had the feeling that the sex thing was a trojan horse to get the lèse-majesté thing through. Pollies hate it when they are criticized or mocked.

rickw
rickw
December 8, 2022 1:11 pm

I suspect most covid deaths in Australia are now vaxxed people.

If you’re dying from what you were vaccinated against. Guess what! You didn’t get jabbed with something that’s actually a vaccine!

alwaysright
alwaysright
December 8, 2022 1:12 pm

he was a victim of the Optus data hack.

as was I [sob]

not as bad as the medibank breach. that one is exposure plus and they do not seem to care.

rickw
rickw
December 8, 2022 1:16 pm

We are all party to a collective “weapon of mass extinction” only big government can challenge to end the planet’s “orgy of destruction,” the U.N.

Nothing like the orgy of destruction that will be wrought on the Tyrant Class when the lid finally comes off.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 1:18 pm

WED, DEC 7, 2022 | BY JOHN SCHROEDER

“Unintended Consequences” or “What Experts Don’t Know Can Hurt You”

Expertise is a funny thing. In a world with as much knowledge as this world contains, expertise in any given area generally means there are other areas one does not spend much time learning about.

Expertise is as much about focus as it is about knowledge. But in order to focus on something very specific, of necessity other things get ignored. This is one of the reasons I decided against pursuing a PhD in my academic field of Chemistry. In order to obtain such a degree my focus would have had to become very narrow – to the point of stifling curiosity in other areas.

Consider this abstract of an academic paper – Car Seats as Contraception (HT: Instapundit)

Since 1977, U.S. states have passed laws steadily raising the age for which a child must ride in a car safety seat. These laws significantly raise the cost of having a third child, as many regular-sized cars cannot fit three child seats in the back. Using census data and state-year variation in laws, we estimate that when women have two children of ages requiring mandated car seats, they have a lower annual probability of giving birth by 0.73 percentage points. Consistent with a causal channel, this effect is limited to third child births, is concentrated in households with access to a car, and is larger when a male is present (when both front seats are likely to be occupied). We estimate that these laws prevented only 57 car crash fatalities of children nationwide in 2017. Simultaneously, they led to a permanent reduction of approximately 8,000 births in the same year, and 145,000 fewer births since 1980, with 90% of this decline being since 2000.

The paper is by some economists – so a different field than the engineers and regulators that design and mandate child safety/restraint seats.

Talk about your unintended consequences! Now, if you have ever looked into the work to design child safety seats, it is amazing engineering, really amazing, but it is all about crash test dummies, impact angles, force misdirection and so on. Nowhere in all of that is any consideration whatsoever of the sociological/behavioral consequences of implementing that truly amazing and expert engineering in the real world.

Then there is this: – The Brains of Teenagers Look Disturbingly Different After Lockdown

The stress of living through pandemic lockdowns has accelerated aging in the brains of teenagers. The effects are similar to those previously observed as a result of violence, neglect, and family dysfunction.

Even if you’ve left adolescence far behind, you might remember that it can be a tumultuous time in terms of thoughts and feelings, and there’s a lot of reorganizing that goes on in the brain – even without a global pandemic and the associated lockdowns.

A recent study by researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco, concluded the pandemic had ‘sped up’ some of this reorganizing, thinning of the cortex and increasing the size of the hippocampus and the amygdala sections of the brain.

In this case we are dealing with another piece of evidence in an already massive pile of evidence that the lockdowns were an ignorant idea – focused exclusively on stopping the spread of a virus without consideration of any other thing, mental health, economic health, education, or even other disease categories. For whatever reason we relied on the epidemiologists exclusively and simply paid no attention to any other expert in any other field. Therefore, calling the lockdowns “ignorant” is a very precise description for they were completely ignorant of any consideration aside from the spread of the virus.

Now here is what we need to consider – we have battles going on here – economists versus safety engineers, epidemiologists versus mental health professionals. Everyone involved is an expert – furthermore they are all very good experts using their expertise in profound and smart ways.

They are all doing “the science” they are trained to do very, very well. And yet they would lead us in very different directions in response to the same circumstances.

Science answers little questions, not big ones. Science can tell us about the climate, but it cannot tell us the best climate policy because policy is about so much more than just climate – it’s about economics and birthrates and…and…and….

There is no substitute for human prudential, and well informed, judgement. There is not, nor can there ever be, enough data to make decisions on the big stuff for us.

Experts are not always the answer.

Speedbox
December 8, 2022 1:24 pm

Could be Bruce. There was a package of laws and, of course, our media focus on the sex aspect. Other elements of the package ban (or reimpose bans, or extends existing bans) on blasphemy, promotion of contraception, promotion of Marxist-Leninist ideology and (ta daa)……. restores the ban on insulting a sitting President and Vice President, state institutions and national ideology.

There is also a ban on black magic which is a bit curious but I guess the President and Vice President are covering all the bases….. just in case. 🙂

mem
mem
December 8, 2022 1:25 pm

No linear warming trend for Australia for 10 years and 5 months.
comment image

Roger
Roger
December 8, 2022 1:25 pm

All fine here Dover. Incidentally the blog had been getting slower and slower, but is now fast again after your reset.

I concur.

For a while I thought the slowness must be due to my ancient computer.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 1:27 pm

Solar’s Lofty Ambitions Are Consuming Ever-Larger Expanses of Land Down Below
Mammoth Solar

By John Murawski, RealClearInvestigations – December 7, 2022

But this pastoral tableau will be swept up in the green revolution when construction begins here on the nation’s largest solar power facility east of the Mississippi River. The planned 800-megawatt Randolph Solar Project in Charlotte County will replace a commercial lumber farm of loblolly pines with 1.6 million photovoltaic panels covering an area equivalent to seven square miles.

And the rapid buildout exposes a moral paradox for the climate change movement: Although done in the name of fighting global warming, some amount of deforestation will be the inevitable result of clearing land for ground-mounted solar panels. Environmental groups say they hope to steer solar farms to “disturbed land” (modified adversely, typically by human activity) and rooftops, but those options are often expensive and impractical.

“We’re going to change the character and characteristic of rural Virginia if this goes unchecked,” warned Martha Moore, senior vice president of governmental relations at the Virginia Farm Bureau. “My main concern is the long-term viability of the agriculture and forestry industry in the state of Virginia.”

Moore pointedly avoids using the euphemism solar “farm” when referring to a solar energy facility. She is concerned that replacing agriculture with sprawling solar projects will not only take out valuable land from production but also undercut local farming by reducing business for local sawmills, livestock markets, and farmers’ cooperatives.

This year the American Farmland Trust said that expanding solar power could gobble up as much as 3,900 square miles nationwide, and predicted that many Eastern states could lose between 1.5% and 6% of their undeveloped land to solar facilities – mostly on farmland that’s flat, cleared, and near to existing transmission infrastructure. A Princeton University study this year forecast that achieving a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050 could directly impact a cumulative land area the size of Virginia, with forested lands the most directly impacted by solar deployment in Eastern states.

The environmental groups that have launched waves of lawsuits and press releases to fight oil and gas pipelines, natural gas fracking activity, and power plant ozone violations have largely been absent on this issue.

DrBeauGan
DrBeauGan
December 8, 2022 1:27 pm

There is also a ban on black magic which is a bit curious.

Is off-white, slightly grey magic OK? Asking for a fiend.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 1:29 pm

Geez this is awful.

How much time/money/brainpower might have been wasted here?

https://www.sciencealert.com/reigning-theory-of-alzheimer-s-may-be-based-on-fraudulent-images-per-new-report

A seminal 2006 study of Alzheimer’s disease might contain fabricated results, an investigation from Science magazine found.

The investigation uncovered evidence suggesting several instances of image manipulation in the work of Sylvain Lesné, a researcher working at the University of Minnesota and an author of the 2006 study.
A seminal 2006 study of Alzheimer’s disease might contain fabricated results, an investigation from Science magazine found.

The investigation uncovered evidence suggesting several instances of image manipulation in the work of Sylvain Lesné, a researcher working at the University of Minnesota and an author of the 2006 study.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 1:34 pm

and (ta daa)……. restores the ban on insulting a sitting President and Vice President, state institutions and national ideology.

The excitable people from Aceh and suchlike would really love the sex ban, but would not at all like being arrested for criticizing the state. Which of course they often do. So the law seems to’ve been a bit of a honey trap.

Roger
Roger
December 8, 2022 1:35 pm

There is also a ban on black magic which is a bit curious but I guess the President and Vice President are covering all the bases….. just in case. ?

Sorcery is very big in Indon.

Rabz
December 8, 2022 1:36 pm

Pesutto is wetter and more hysterical about the climate scam than the idiot he’s replacing

About the only thing that could be said in the new imbecile’s favour is that the chances of him being opposition leader by the time of the next election are zero.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 1:37 pm

JFK Assassination Investigator Has Jarring New Claim About Oswald’s CIA Involvement

A prominent Kennedy assassination investigator says the CIA has never disclosed documents proving that Lee Harvey Oswald was involved with the CIA in 1963.

The CIA holds documents that show presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was involved in an intelligence operation before the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a prominent Kennedy assassination reporter alleged Tuesday.

“We’re talking about smoking-gun proof of a CIA operation involving Lee Harvey Oswald,” reporter Jefferson Morley said.

Morley claimed the CIA operation involving Oswald took place in the summer of 1963, three months before the assassination. The allegation from Morley, who has written extensively about the CIA in the 1960s, could shake up the history of the Kennedy assassination if it proves to be true.

Kennedy investigators have long sought to investigate the extent of Oswald’s involvement with intelligence agencies, and whether that could reveal more about whether Oswald was the only person involved in Kennedy’s death. Despite decades of investigations from Congress and independent inspectors, the CIA has never disclosed any involvement with Oswald.

“This is an extraordinarily serious claim, and it has profound implications for the official story,” Morley said.

Morley claimed that Oswald, a former Marine who defected to the Soviet Union before returning to the United States as a supporter of Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro, was involved in a pre-assassination CIA operation meant to discredit American supporters of Castro. Morley’s allegations focused on files created by now-deceased CIA agent George Joannides, who was involved with anti-Castro exile groups. Morley said 44 documents in Joannides’s file are still being held by the CIA and could shed new light on the purported operation.

“No one outside of the CIA was any wiser,” Morley said of the effort, which he said involved work to promote Oswald as an unhinged pro-Castro figure.

The claim from Morley, a former Washington Post reporter, came at a press conference for Kennedy assassination investigators that includes a sitting federal judge.

The press conference comes before a deadline next week imposed by President Joe Biden for the CIA and FBI to release all documents related to the assassination. It’s not clear yet whether the agencies will request an extension of that deadline.

Judge John R. Tunheim, a federal judge in Minnesota, said it was time for the CIA to release its remaining documents. Tunheim previously served on the Assassination Records Review Board, which handled the release of assassination-related files.

“It’s time to release all of the files,” Tunheim said.

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 1:37 pm

DrBeauGansays:
December 8, 2022 at 1:27 pm
There is also a ban on black magic which is a bit curious.

Is off-white, slightly grey magic OK? Asking for a fiend.

I do remember Black Magic being a very nice box of dark chocolates in England in the 1960s. No one ever had any idea then that dark chocolates could be racist…………………..This World is going NUTS.

m0nty
m0nty
December 8, 2022 1:39 pm

Most have not even been charged as yet – after more than 18 months!

You are going to have to provide a link for that one, chief. Here’s one to get you started.

At least 964 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection so far. This searchable table shows them all.

[…] Only 465 federally charged rioters have entered guilty pleas so far.

Stewart Rhodes’ conviction for seditious conspiracy is the most serious so far, but it won’t be the last.

alwaysright
alwaysright
December 8, 2022 1:48 pm

There are no signs that they Vic Libs will change in significant way prior to the next election.
When the next election* rolls around they will present the same old failures (with different faces).

* This assumes that the administrators and debt recovery people permit the next election.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 1:49 pm

Monty – You are being disingenuous again.

Those people have been charged, sure, many falsely. And have been stuck in the black hole of Calcutta Washington for two years awaiting trial. On purpose. How would you like to be on remand for two years awaiting a trial for a crime which normally attracts a small fine?

Surber today:

As long as we have imprisoned 955 J6 dissidents, the USA has no room to lecture anyone on freedom. Our constitutional republic died on 20 January 2021 when Biden took over.

Yep.

Zipster
Zipster
December 8, 2022 1:49 pm

Michelle Rempel Garner

interesting Canadian parliamentary debate

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 1:50 pm

The Undergraduate Essay Is About to Die

Nobody is prepared for how AI will transform academia.

Suppose you are a professor of pedagogy, and you assign an essay on learning styles. A student hands in an essay with the following opening paragraph:

The construct of “learning styles” is problematic because it fails to account for the processes through which learning styles are shaped. Some students might develop a particular learning style because they have had particular experiences. Others might develop a particular learning style by trying to accommodate to a learning environment that was not well suited to their learning needs. Ultimately, we need to understand the interactions among learning styles and environmental and personal factors, and how these shape how we learn and the kinds of learning we experience.

Pass or fail? A- or B+? And how would your grade change if you knew a human student hadn’t written it at all? Because Mike Sharples, a professor in the U.K., used GPT-3, a large language model from OpenAI that automatically generates text from a prompt, to write it.

(The whole essay, which Sharples considered graduate-level, is available, complete with references, here.) Personally, I lean toward a B+. The passage reads like filler, but so do most student essays.

Sharples’s intent was to urge educators to “rethink teaching and assessment” in light of the technology, which he said “could become a gift for student cheats, or a powerful teaching assistant, or a tool for creativity.” Essay generation is neither theoretical nor futuristic at this point.

Zipster
Zipster
December 8, 2022 1:50 pm

Monty – You are being disingenuous again.

he’s just a pissweak troll

John H.
John H.
December 8, 2022 1:51 pm

Adolescent cannabis abuse has increased 245% since 2000 in the US, while alcohol abuse has steadily declined over the same period.

Then why no rise in schizophrenia? Since the 60’s the potency and use has skyrocketed but schizophrenia rates are stable or declining.

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 1:57 pm

Via OldOzzie

The environmental groups that have launched waves of lawsuits and press releases to fight oil and gas pipelines, natural gas fracking activity, and power plant ozone violations have largely been absent on this issue.

That’s because they are leftist political lobby groups, not environmental groups.

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 1:58 pm

Zipstersays:
December 8, 2022 at 1:50 pm
Monty – You are being disingenuous again.

he’s just a pissweak troll

NO. He is just piss weak……………………….

m0nty
m0nty
December 8, 2022 1:58 pm

Don Surber LOL, this is a man who was fired from a cushy op-ed role at a newspaper in the Deep South for being too racist.

Those people have been charged, sure, many falsely. And have been stuck in the black hole of Calcutta Washington for two years awaiting trial. On purpose. How would you like to be on remand for two years awaiting a trial for a crime which normally attracts a small fine?

No they haven’t, Bruce. You are living in a fantasy world of lies spun for you by grifters yet again.

There are less than three dozen January 6 defendants remanded in custody.

Every day you come here and embarrass yourself.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 1:59 pm

Then why no rise in schizophrenia?

John – I think you’ll find those people in the tent cities in San Fran and suchlike.
Medical statistics have been turned into another form of propaganda.
So if it is against the current ideology you won’t see any real data on it.

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 2:02 pm

The wife shouted at me the other day: “We never talk, we live like strangers in the same house. All you do is watch your stupid rugby on TV and drink your damn beer! You show absolutely zero interest in me!” I said “That’s not true honey, I know you well, I love you!” Rather unexpectedly (and regrettably for me), she said “OK then, smartarse, how about a little test? What’s my favourite flower?” I really tried hard. I sat. I thought as much as I could. After a few more seconds, and with her standing hands on hips, and with her eyebrows raised, I muttered ” Self-Raising, isn’t it?”…………………..

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 2:04 pm

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

– Bruce Lee

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 2:05 pm

Monty lying again. I read Surber for many years when he was at the Gazette. His blog was like Blair’s, except the Gazette was lefty. Eventually it went bankrupt, as lefty papers do, which is when he lost his job as I recall and started his current blog.

As for the rest you obviously can’t read English.

JC
JC
December 8, 2022 2:07 pm

I wonder what medications Rodney Rottenhead is on. He goes manic.

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 2:10 pm

m0ntysays:
December 8, 2022 at 1:58 pm
Don Surber LOL, this is a man who was fired from a cushy op-ed role at a newspaper in the Deep South for being too racist.

Those people have been charged, sure, many falsely. And have been stuck in the black hole of Calcutta Washington for two years awaiting trial. On purpose. How would you like to be on remand for two years awaiting a trial for a crime which normally attracts a small fine?

No they haven’t, Bruce. You are living in a fantasy world of lies spun for you by grifters yet again.

There are less than three dozen January 6 defendants remanded in custody.

Every day you come here and embarrass yourself.

Monty Pox Virus. It can never be an Insurrection when they open the doors and let you in. Look at the videos. Are you blind or some thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPmfkJXEtcI

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 2:11 pm

There are less than three dozen January 6 defendants remanded in custody.

Deep black comedy that those poor people are asking to be transferred from DC jail to Guantanamo.
Says a lot about the conditions they are being held in while awaiting trial.

At least in East Germany you got a trial.

m0nty
m0nty
December 8, 2022 2:13 pm

Charleston newspaper fires columnist Surber over ‘inexcusable’ commentary

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Charleston Daily Mail fired longtime editorial writer Don Surber after his personal blog described Michael Brown as an “animal” that police in Ferguson, Mo., had to put down.

Daily Mail publisher Brad McElhinny announced Surber’s dismissal Thursday on the newspaper’s website, criticizing Surber’s commentary as “unfortunate, inflammatory and, in our view, inexcusable.”

In a Saturday blog that immediately attracted criticism for its racist tonality, Surber wrote:

“This summer I had an epiphany as I watched packs of racists riot in Ferguson, Missouri, in support of a gigantic thug who was higher than a kite when he attacked Ferguson Police Department Officer Darren Wilson, who unfortunately had to put this animal down.”

Within 24 hours, Surber appended the post: “I made a factual error. Michael Brown was not an animal but a man. Big. Brutal. High. His death was a justifiable homicide and not a putting down.”

Bruce, mate…. dig up, stupid.

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 2:19 pm

JCsays:
December 8, 2022 at 2:07 pm
I wonder what medications Rodney Rottenhead is on. He goes manic.

Ha, ha, ha. Coming from a pompous windbag like you that is crazy. I don’t need any pills but maybe you do. I like red wine and lots of other legal stuff. Just keep wandering you jerky crunt and get lost. How are the face masks going for you lately? Helping? At least they can help hide your fat ugly face…………………..

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 2:19 pm

I accept the correction Monty. I was going on memory. Sorry. However the Gazette went bankrupt not so long afterwards. That’s true.

Michael Brown was much discussed on the Cat at the time, and Surber’s description seems appropriate.
Try stopping a black bear some time. Or even a kangaroo.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 2:22 pm

Being fired for accuracy is a badge of honour.
Like that poor NBC reporter who has now vanished.
Telling the truth about the Pelosis isn’t liked.

John H.
John H.
December 8, 2022 2:23 pm

Bruce of Newcastlesays:
December 8, 2022 at 1:59 pm
Then why no rise in schizophrenia?

John – I think you’ll find those people in the tent cities in San Fran and suchlike.
Medical statistics have been turned into another form of propaganda.
So if it is against the current ideology you won’t see any real data on it.

Yes Bruce that is a big issue. For decades psychiatry has been demonising street drugs and now the profession are trialing those drugs for all manner of interventions. The cannabis-schizophrenia linkage has been treated cautiously by most in the profession but not by those governments rely on for propaganda purposes. Now it is being touted as curing everything from anxiety to cancer. Cannabinoids can help with some conditions but once the smoke has cleared it will be obvious that the benefits are much more circumscribed.

It is very annoying and again emphasizes that healthy professions require mavericks and iconoclasts. Bruce those character types are increasingly being eliminated. What happened to FlyingDuk is disgraceful, people should be called to account and he should be paid compensation but I doubt any of that will happen.

m0nty
m0nty
December 8, 2022 2:24 pm

Michael Brown was much discussed on the Cat at the time, and Surber’s description seems appropriate.
Try stopping a black bear some time. Or even a kangaroo.

“Actually Surber was right to be a racist” is not a take that makes you look better, Bruce.

Speedbox
December 8, 2022 2:26 pm

DrBeauGan says:
December 8, 2022 at 1:27 pm
Is off-white, slightly grey magic OK? Asking for a fiend.

Well, if your fiend is intending to turn over a new leaf and not practice the dark arts or occupy the bodies of the deceased, they may have some wiggle room. Otherwise, they should consider relocating to a more welcoming environment – say, Australia where we openings in our DPP, ATO or as advisors to Government.

Gilas
Gilas
December 8, 2022 2:30 pm

lotocoti says:
December 8, 2022 at 12:05 pm

Accidentally pressed the report button.. bloody mobile phone!

Apologies all round.

Speedbox
December 8, 2022 2:34 pm

Bruce of Newcastle says:
December 8, 2022 at 1:34 pm
and (ta daa)……. restores the ban on insulting a sitting President and Vice President, state institutions and national ideology.
—-
The excitable people from Aceh and suchlike would really love the sex ban, but would not at all like being arrested for criticizing the state. Which of course they often do. So the law seems to’ve been a bit of a honey trap.

The sex thing is already banned in Aceh. They imposed those aspects of Sharia law some time ago. I think the penalty is 100 lashes. Not certain of the penalty but as I am not going to Aceh and am not homosexual, it’s moot.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 2:38 pm

Monty – You have demonstrated with links that Surber was fired for accurately reporting the Ferguson incident, and you have also shown that the Biden regime is worse than East Germany in holding people in horrible jails without trial.

Would you like to try three for three?

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 2:44 pm

2 stories in newspapers.

About the same thing, but apart from some of the names they bear no resemblance to each other.

From this..
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/07/crime-black-skin-ademola-adedeji-gang-court
In 2020, three days after he had found out his best friend had been killed, he had sent a few messages in grief and anger, spanning a total of 20 minutes. Nothing came of what he said, but a month on from those messages, one boy caused direct harm while another was present at harm. (Those two boys, I believe, were also failed, having experienced things pre-harm such as school exclusion and exploitation.)
With the existence of harm, black friendships and the ability to create “dangerous associations” through a “gang” narrative, 10 boys were thrown into the injustice system on a conspiracy to murder charge in a case with no fatalities and no victim co-operating.

As the first four boys were found guilty of conspiracy to murder, my body went into overdrive. Then came the next six, accused of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm, including Ade and the other three boys who I knew. I could hear a wailing, and as the judge said, “If you can’t take the verdict quietly, you must leave”, I realised the sound was coming from me. The punishment: a collective 131 years.

But the jury did not see what we see in each boy. They did not see how Ade leads with kindness each day, how his little brother curls up in his lap for a cuddle, or how he watches movies in bed with his mum. They did not see him when he gleefully shouted, “I love this song!” in the supermarket across from court upon hearing Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer. They did not see him walk me to the tram stop after court to make sure I was OK, while babbling on about why Grey’s Anatomy was a must-watch. They did not see his baby face and deep dimples when he smiles, or that he was simply in pain when his friend died, nothing more. They did not see him at all. Instead, we live in a world where the media, politicians and police all tell the public that black boys equal a “gang”.
..
But he wasn’t there. He and the others had been stolen from us by a state that relies upon racialised and working-class people being dead, poor or imprisoned to maintain its power. One that cares not for supporting young people or healing communities, but that prioritises being “tough on crime” to win elections.

To this..
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/jailed-violent-gang-fixated-revenge-24378018

A gang have been locked up for planning ‘revenge’ attacks against a rival group who brutally murdered their ‘leader’. Members of the M40 gang stocked up on weapons including machetes and a crossbow, and carried out at least three brutal attacks to avenge the death of John Soyoye .

The attacks were meticulously planned in group chats over three months. The group were handed lengthy sentences at Preston Crown Court today (July 1) following a trial in May in which four defendants were found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to commit murder and another six were found guilty of a conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent. There was crying from the public gallery as the young men, many who were under 18 at the time of the offence, were given lengthy prison sentences.
..
In the days following John Soyoye’s murder the M40 gang plotted their revenge in group chats. They then went on to attack young men with machetes in retaliation. The attacks showed a ‘significant degree of planning and (were) premeditated’, a judge said.
Each defendant had a ‘principal part’ within the criminal conspiracy ‘to kill others or cause GBH where the victims suffered very serious machete wounds’, Judge Sir Julian Goose said.

“There was planning for murder and weapons were taken to seek targets. There was serious harm caused in the attacks. There was planning over a three month period to kill two or more as part of the group and to use dangerous weapons. It was a crime fixated on revenge.”

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 2:55 pm

This is just so funny……………….NOT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAw78MpeL5c

Bar Beach Swimmer
December 8, 2022 2:56 pm

On Sky, this morning, there was a piece about the Georgia run-off and Laura Jayes referring to Trump’s man not getting up as if it was a mortal wound for his chances at the next presidential election. To that “analysis” I’d say that Herschel Walker’s loss serves just as well the GOP establishment as it does the Dems.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 2:57 pm

Maybe she should teach Swahili instead.

Apparently, good grammar is racist (6 Dec)

English teacher says that grammar and writing rules are based in white supremacy so she tries to undermine it in her classroom

The funniest thing is this lady posted a tweet of herself saying this on video…which Libs of Tik Tok found. Dusky she ain’t.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 3:03 pm

GREAT NEWS! Liberal Men Getting Vasectomies Has Skyrocketed

I found a leftist cultural project I can support. And I mean it. Honest. I’m willing to throw money in the pot too.

Count me in soy boys, ladies with underarm hair and pink hair on your head. I’m with you. Hey, you pretend men with working uteruses. I am an ally.

When a Supreme Court rat leaked the Dobbs v. Jackson slip-opinion, the left went off their collective rockers over it. There was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth. Women across our fair land were super-duper upset that unfettered abortion could be a thing of the past. Women, mostly in California and New York, were aghast. They grabbed their torches and took to the streets. They ignored the fact that if they lived in New York and California, the pink-haired ladies could still murder their unborn children mostly unfettered by law or conscience.

You saw the protests, right? I saw them and what struck me was most of the women appeared to be overweight shaved-headed lesbians or, as an alternative, coyote-ugly women that… let me put this gently – might have trouble finding a sober mate.

But, in the midst of mindless depravity, there was a glimmer of light. I watched as soy-boy allies of the now and future aborters proclaimed their solidarity. Wearing their man-buns and unkept beards, they stood with hairy lesbians and any women who might find them attractive. These men who, long ago, burned their Man Cards held signs up that they would commit to vasectomies.

Evan Pulgino was a Seattle resident. He snipped his cords in solidarity. He told the local news:

“Half the country lost their rights. Pregnancy requires two people, and it’s not fair that the burden falls on one person because they’re the ones that can get pregnant.”

Yes – Evan looks like what you thought he’d look like – complete with beard and holding a cat.

And lastly, we have the added societal benefit of, in a generation, the Soys having far fewer children.

It’s a win-win-win.

I’ll start a foundation that will sponsor thousands of soy boys for vasectomies. The acronym would be SBV (SoyBoyVac). The mailers would include a photo of a soy boy with a longing look, pointing at his crotch, the caption:

Can you help this Soy get a vasectomy?

Who’s with me?

Gilas
Gilas
December 8, 2022 3:06 pm

OldOzzie says:
December 8, 2022 at 1:37 pm

JFK Assassination Investigator Has Jarring New Claim About Oswald’s CIA Involvement

I am now waiting for the next breathless reports on the mysterious disappearance of Madeleine McCann and William Tyrrell.

… as well as the great promises of quantum computing and Tokamak fusion-reactor technology..

.. oh.. and the chunks’ imminent invasion of Taiwan.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 3:08 pm

Tucker Carlson asks Why is President Zelenskyy Banning Christianity in Ukraine?

December 7, 2022 – Sundance

Given the background, it doesn’t come as a surprise. Zelenskyy has previously made political opposition parties illegal and removed all media from Ukraine that is not state authorized. However, the move to ban a Ukraine orthodox religion is still a considerable escalation into totalitarian extremes; all supported by the U.S. State Dept.

As Carlson notes in the latter part of his monologue, the insufferable propaganda has enmeshed the Ukrainian face of western government, “It’s just a grotesque post-modern psy-op, and anyone still falling for this is brain damaged.” WATCH:

Robert Sewell
December 8, 2022 3:11 pm

Lizzie:

Currently under-patronised in its fifty rooms, it could be purchased by government as a migrant hostel.

That’d be lovely, wouldn’t?
50 rooms to place 50 young blokes from Nigeria who will expect to be waited on by the cleaning crew and put up with their abusive and filthy habits.
Just as long as they’re not in Vauclause.
At least the cantankerous ones will just fit into a crab pot with a little trimming when they start their usual practice with the young women and girls.

Bar Beach Swimmer
December 8, 2022 3:12 pm

They did not see his baby face and deep dimples when he smiles,

which reminds me of Louise Milligan’s description of The Kid – “big chocolate-drop eyes framed with curling lashes,” and this…

From wiki:

Lester Joseph Gillis (December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934),[1] also known as George Nelson and Baby Face Nelson, was an American bank robber who became a criminal partner of John Dillinger, when he helped Dillinger escape from prison, in Crown Point, Indiana. Later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced Nelson and the remaining gang of bank robbers were collectively “Public Enemy Number One.”

The “Baby Face Nelson” nickname derived from Gillis being a short man with a youthful appearance; however, in the professional realm, Gillis’s fellow criminals addressed him as “Jimmy”.[2] A violent bank robber, Lester Joseph Gillis killed more agents of the FBI than has any other criminal.[3] FBI agents fatally wounded and killed Baby Face Nelson in the Battle of Barrington (27 November 1934), fought in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.[4]

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

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 3:19 pm

In Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Address, Kamala Harris Urges Nation Not To Forget January 6

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a powerful Peal Harbor Remembrance Day address to the nation, Vice President Kamala Harris urged Americans to take some time to quietly remember January 6.

“Pearl Harbor was bad. They dropped bombs on big, big boats. But January 6 was even more bad,” said Harris in her speech. “They did an insurrection. An insurrection on the government. And we almost became a Nazi country. Remember it? We should all remember. The passage of time is very significant, but it will never make January 6 go away from our hearts. Amen.”

The administration observed a moment of silence and lowered the flags to half-staff in remembrance of that day that will live in infamy.

“Let us now observe a moment of silence.

Remember AOC, who died several times that day.

Remember the bloodshed and the carnage. Remember our democracy, which was almost murdered. And also Pearl Harbor too. But remember January 6 more. I love space! It’s big!” Kamala concluded.

Biden also attempted to address the nation but was pulled off stage when he started telling the story of how he fended off thousands of bloodthirsty Ultra-MAGA at the Capitol with nothing but a rusty switchblade.

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 3:19 pm

Stewart Rhodes’ conviction for seditious conspiracy is the most serious so far, but it won’t be the last.

So, no-one actually charged with the crime of Insurrection? Saving the best for last?

duncanm
duncanm
December 8, 2022 3:21 pm

Why is it that ex-ABC presenters keep getting busted for drugs?

Robert Sewell
December 8, 2022 3:23 pm

Zyconoclast:

The r@pe allegedly took place at the start of last year, several weeks after the French woman had met the refugee at a party and had taken him in after learning he had been living in a squat, Actu reports.

Stupid woman. What the Hell did she think was going to happen?
Does this entire generation of women have to be raped by migrants before they wake up to the reality of millions of invading Muslims?
I have no sympathy at all for their delayed childhood emotionalism.

duncanm
duncanm
December 8, 2022 3:26 pm

Woops.. is this a completely separate incident? Seems like it.
2019 arrest

19.61 grams of cannabis, 47.17 grams of methamphetamine, 1.29 grams of MDMA, six tabs of LSD and 394 mls of gamma-Butyrolactone

He got out of that one with no gaol time.

2022 arrest, with much larger quantities.

500 MDMA tablets, 100g of cocaine, 3.2kg of 1,4-butanediol, 700g of methylamphetamine, more than a 1kg of cannabis, and more than $70,000 cash.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 3:30 pm

Watch: Lizzo Pushes to ‘Normalize’ Abortion at People’s 1st Choice Awards

From Above in Thread

Women across our fair land were super-duper upset that unfettered abortion could be a thing of the past. Women, mostly in California and New York, were aghast. They grabbed their torches and took to the streets. They ignored the fact that if they lived in New York and California, the pink-haired ladies could still murder their unborn children mostly unfettered by law or conscience.

You saw the protests, right? I saw them and what struck me was most of the women appeared to be overweight shaved-headed lesbians or, as an alternative, coyote-ugly women that… let me put this gently – might have trouble finding a sober mate.

Lizzo definitely in Class of might have trouble finding a sober mate.

The Comments worth reading

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 3:31 pm

m0ntysays:
December 8, 2022 at 2:24 pm
Michael Brown was much discussed on the Cat at the time, and Surber’s description seems appropriate.
Try stopping a black bear some time. Or even a kangaroo.

“Actually Surber was right to be a racist” is not a take that makes you look better, Bruce.

You are falling into the “dog whistle” trap again. Plenty of criminals of all races have been described as animals. Think the Kray brothers in the UK, as a simple example. To automatically assume, as both you and the newspaper concerned did, shows that in your sub-conscious, you regard blacks (and no-one else) as animals.

Remember, those who hear the “dog whistle” are the racists. You heard it.

JC
JC
December 8, 2022 3:37 pm

as both you and the newspaper concerned did, shows that in your sub-conscious, you regard blacks (and no-one else) as animals.

Mexican Cartels are animals. The coded gang from those south American countries Trump used to talk about are all animals.

JC
JC
December 8, 2022 3:42 pm

The Dirty Fuhrer and the 1488s are animals. A kid my kid was friends with in School is a Federal prosecutor who led the case.

m0nty
m0nty
December 8, 2022 3:42 pm

Monty – You have demonstrated with links that Surber was fired for accurately reporting the Ferguson incident, and you have also shown that the Biden regime is worse than East Germany in holding people in horrible jails without trial.

Surber was fired for being racist, and you have shown a terribly incompetent grasp of basic facts.

Jorge
Jorge
December 8, 2022 3:45 pm
Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 3:47 pm

Surber is no racist. He loves Clarence Thomas, which is apparent from yesterday. Likewise people like Candace Owen, Alan West and Ben Carson.

Monty’s problem is he apparently believes the lies of the Left on things like Ferguson, which we Cats analyzed in detail at the time.

m0nty
m0nty
December 8, 2022 3:49 pm

You’ve had a Barry Crocker today Bruce. Back in your box ,sunshine.

JC
JC
December 8, 2022 3:50 pm

Surber was fired for being racist, and you have shown a terribly incompetent grasp of basic facts.

Surber was fired because the people who ran the newspaper were spineless amebas, not because he’s wacist.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 3:54 pm

Haha, Monty, I am not a telepath to know what you’re about to post even before you post it.
But I’m amused the comment I just wrote disproved you even before I read yours!
Of course anyone would’ve known this if they’d researched Mr Surber.
Except you it seems.
But keep on displaying your mendaciousness. I’m sure it will convince so many people to your…cause.

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
December 8, 2022 4:16 pm

callisays:
December 8, 2022 at 8:54 am
You won’t need it rosie. I’ve had three shots of the rubbish and Covid ran away from me in every crowded airport, railway station, pub, market and restaurant that I visited throughout Europe and GB.

Took a big snort of “First Defence” when the situation looked “iffy”. Like putting a roll of barbed wire up the nose. ?

If you have a robust immune system, you’ll be fine. I’d be more worried about that crappy URTI that attacks you in-flight and won’t let go.

***********

FFS, Calli.

“I’ve had three shots of the rubbish”

You admit it is rubbish, yet in the arm it went? That is different from someone who is ignorant and not knowing any better.

Frank
Frank
December 8, 2022 4:22 pm

“2022 arrest, with much larger quantities.”

He is going to the big house for that lot this time.

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 4:34 pm

m0ntysays:
December 8, 2022 at 3:42 pm
Monty – You have demonstrated with links that Surber was fired for accurately reporting the Ferguson incident, and you have also shown that the Biden regime is worse than East Germany in holding people in horrible jails without trial.

Surber was fired for being racist, and you have shown a terribly incompetent grasp of basic facts.

By your reaction to the “dog whistle” word animals, you have shown the depth of your sub-conscious racism. Own it.

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 4:38 pm

FFS, Calli.

“I’ve had three shots of the rubbish”

You admit it is rubbish, yet in the arm it went? That is different from someone who is ignorant and not knowing any better.

Of course it is a rubbish drug. It does not work. How much more evevidence do you need?

John Brumble
John Brumble
December 8, 2022 4:39 pm

Are vasectomies actually increasing, or have they just returned to standard, pre-COVID lock-up numbers?

I know I put mine off during that time…. but it’s back on in 2023 (enough
kids, thank you).

cohenite
December 8, 2022 4:40 pm

Hey dickless, where is that evidence that Trump censored people?

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 4:41 pm

PM’s details on Voice will fail: Dutton
Greg Brown
GREG BROWN

Peter Dutton says a Voice to Parliament referendum will fail under the details so far released by Anthony Albanese.

The Opposition Leader said “Australians aren’t stupid” and would not support a proposal that was rushed out “in the dead of night”.

“If the argument is that this goes to referendum and it goes down, then it’ll be the Prime Minister explaining why he’s presided over a process which has led to its failure. It’s as simple as that,” Mr Dutton told 2GB radio.

Mr Dutton lashed out at “juvenile” criticisms of people opposed to the voice.

“Media outlets have decided that you’ll be on the wrong side of history if you don’t support the Voice or somehow you’re racist if you’re questioning what the voice is about,” he said.

“It’s so juvenile in approach, it’s embarrassing, and frankly, that’s the way the Prime Minister’s conducted himself in this debate as well.”

Mr Dutton said the issue with changing the constitution was that it could not be undone if there was a change of government.

“It’s not like a law where you find that it didn’t work and you can change it or amend it,” he said.

“That’s not what we’re talking about here and the Prime Minister’s continuing to say ‘well, look we’re not going to provide any of the detail, People can vote on the Saturday about whether they want to change the Constitution and if that goes through, then we’ll give you the detail on the Monday’.

“I just don’t think it makes any sense.”

Linda Burney is on record already as saying that “Once the “Voice” is enshrined in the Constitution, they won’t be able to get rid of it, the way they did ATSIC.”

alwaysright
alwaysright
December 8, 2022 4:41 pm

I had one shot of AZ which made me very ill.
I learn quick. No more of that shit.

rosie
rosie
December 8, 2022 4:49 pm

Thanks for the advice.
I went to Europe in December 2021 for two months when omicron was at its peak, people in Rome queuing up everywhere around me getting tested in the street then up to 1 in 6 people in France with it when I was there.
I got an early booster ten days before I left. Didn’t get covid that I know of, despite travelling on public transport everywhere, eating in crowded restaurants etc.
I’m going to get both a covid booster and a flu shot before I go, and Ill take a script of antibiotics in case I get bronchitis/pleurisy, which im prone to, it’s the middle of winter there, the cough and cold season.
Btw, When will the anti vaxx hysteria season end?

rosie
rosie
December 8, 2022 4:52 pm

I’m going to get a novavax booster, just to avoid those little self replicating robot nano wriggling artificial intelligences.
Complete pfizer free, me.

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
December 8, 2022 4:52 pm

Johnny Rottensays:
December 8, 2022 at 4:38 pm

calli, is one cool chick. In the same boat with dad when it comes to the jabs though.

Not happy.

calli
calli
December 8, 2022 4:53 pm

FFS, Calli.

“I’ve had three shots of the rubbish”

You admit it is rubbish, yet in the arm it went? That is different from someone who is ignorant and not knowing any better.

Try not to be too judgemental, Steve. I know Purebloods get the shits with traitors like me. And, of course, no comment I make on anything has any weight any more because I’m tainted.

I could always have outsourced my commitments to the unvaccinated, of course. I decided not to.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 4:54 pm

Interesting little read, if you like such things.

Clodius Pulcher: Caesar’s Willing Puppet. The Bona Dea Affair and Its Effect on Cicero and the Fall of the Republic

Or: How a young chaps randiness caused the death of the Roman republic.

calli
calli
December 8, 2022 4:54 pm

I beg your pardon.

I could have outsourced my commitments to the vaccinated.

Zipster
Zipster
December 8, 2022 4:57 pm

I’m going to get a novavax booster, just to avoid those little self replicating robot nano wriggling artificial intelligences.

cool and which shot for desert?

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
December 8, 2022 5:00 pm

rosiesays:
December 8, 2022 at 4:52 pm

rosiesays:
December 8, 2022 at 4:52 pm
I’m going to get a novavax booster, just to avoid those little self replicating robot nano wriggling artificial intelligences.
Complete pfizer free, me.

You’ll probably line up for the booster jab, much like those camping out wanting the latest I-Phone in front of a Apple Store.

Got anymore fact check links you wish to share?

Don’t stop now.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 5:04 pm
OldOzzie
OldOzzie
December 8, 2022 5:13 pm

thefrollickingmolesays:
December 8, 2022 at 4:54 pm
Interesting little read, if you like such things.

Clodius Pulcher: Caesar’s Willing Puppet. The Bona Dea Affair and Its Effect on Cicero and the Fall of the Republic

Or: How a young chaps randiness caused the death of the Roman republic.

thefrollickingmole,

Thanks for that – downloaded and will print

Well time as currently re-reading “Caesar’s Women” (Masters of Rome #4) by Colleen McCullough

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 5:14 pm

ultracrepidarian

Sounds like Monty.

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
December 8, 2022 5:22 pm

callisays:
December 8, 2022 at 4:53 pm.

Dad, is a rusted on ABC / MSM watcher. You are not. Yet, you are both in the same situation.

Jabbed with the sh*t.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
December 8, 2022 5:24 pm

The Undergraduate Essay Is About to Die

Nobody is prepared for how AI will transform academia.

Assignments, and in particular group assignments, are popular with lo-IQ degree factory clients – and were thoroughly debased well before AI became a thing.

Looks like assessment emphasis is going to be back to pracs, vivas, and invigilated examinations. With turd rate students actually getting excluded.

Struggle street for rubbish general arts courses and lazy lecturers.
Good.

Big_Nambas
Big_Nambas
December 8, 2022 5:28 pm

Gov’t Criminally Ignoring Vax-injured Living in Hell on Earth

by Veronika Kyrylenko December 6, 2022, originally printed in the “New American”, reprinted by permission of author and editor

Here is a link to the corresponding video interview

Mr. Fusaro took a Covid injection for a job opportunity that required international travel at a time of tight restrictions, figuring the odds of him not getting injured were on his side. Sadly, he was wrong. After a second Pfizer shot, the man developed numerous medical conditions he had never had before, such as complete heart block, blood clots, and pericarditis, among others. He had three heart surgeries and was put on a pacemaker. Mr. Fusaro’s conditions were medically recognized as having “temporal correlation” with Covid inoculations.

Eventually, Mr. Fusaro got engaged with React19, the largest American non-profit advocating for and supporting vaccine-injured people. Recently, his group experienced a suicide crisis, the information of which was shared with the highest officials at the FDA, CDC, and NIH—and was ignored.

Mr. Fusaro shared a suicide note of a friend who went to Switzerland for an assisted suicide. In it, he described his unbearable suffering:

“Despite Pfizer and government lies about these vaccines, medical gaslighting by countless incompetent doctors, I went above and beyond and tried to get medical treatment to no avail. There is no known cure for this spike-induced illness.”

This letter was also distributed to the federal healthcare agencies, but it received no response.

While people like Robert are living in a “hell on Earth,” the hope is real, and there are viable solutions. Among them are promising medical studies that are underway, and support groups such as React19 that offer not only medical and legal advice, but also a sense of community.

To learn more about and support React19, please click here.

To learn more about the Yale LISTEN Study, please click here.

To learn more about and support the Open Medicine Foundation, please click here.

calli
calli
December 8, 2022 5:33 pm

The thing that planned the Bali bombing has been released.

Just as well he wasn’t carrying drugs.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
December 8, 2022 5:33 pm

David Warner’s manager says players were told to ball tamper in 2016

“Two senior executives were in the changing room in Hobart and basically were berating the team for losing against South Africa (in 2016) and Warner said we’ve got to reverse-swing the ball. The only way we can reverse-swing the ball is by tampering with it.

“And they were told to do it.”

No agency.
The sporting Nuremberg Defence.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 5:36 pm

Looks like assessment emphasis is going to be back to pracs, vivas, and invigilated examinations. With turd rate students actually getting excluded.

Unlikely.

College degree value plummets as woke insanity spikes (7 Dec)

The Left is not going to be dislodged without a fight, and they have a strong incentive to produce more like themselves: woke, edumacated but otherwise too useless to survive in the real world without support from their brothers/sisters/wokethings. Which is the whole idea.

rosie
rosie
December 8, 2022 5:40 pm

Jeepers, I just said I planned to get a booster in January and then get accused of ‘probably lining up for a booster jab’.
No, not probably, definitely, and no lining up, just waltzing into the chemist when it suits me.
I’m not afraid of the big bad booster like the vaccine obsessed here.

rosie
rosie
December 8, 2022 5:46 pm

Heard a brief reference to this on the radio when I was in a shop the other day. Not much coverage.
Ain’t communist dictatorships grand?
Squid Games gets deadlier.
North Korea publicly executes two teenagers for watching and distributing South Korean films

cohenite
December 8, 2022 5:47 pm

Downer on Kenny saying the lnp has to differentiate itself from the liars on alarmism and he’s pleased they’re talking about nuclear; and that and new technology is the way to go. If these retards were any dumber they’d be dead.

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
December 8, 2022 5:49 pm

rosiesays:
December 8, 2022 at 5:40 pm
Jeepers, I just said I planned to get a booster in January and then get accused of ‘probably lining up for a booster jab’.
No, not probably, definitely, and no lining up, just waltzing into the chemist when it suits me.
I’m not afraid of the big bad booster like the vaccine obsessed here.

The stupid clown still refers to it as a “vaccine”.

Frank
Frank
December 8, 2022 5:49 pm

“and invigilated examinations”

UTAS does their exams online now with the students logging in from home.

alwaysright
alwaysright
December 8, 2022 5:55 pm

Survival Instructions for lib candidates.

Step 1. Breathe in
Step 2. Breathe out
Step 3. go to Step 1.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 5:56 pm

Squid Games gets deadlier.

Rosie – Saw that one. What a horrible regime. The poor kids were trying to make a buck, and they get executed for it.

China is going in the same direction. So far the dissenters have been finding ways around the censorship, but the CCP must be getting close to actually arresting people for accessing Western websites and broadcasts.

MatrixTransform
December 8, 2022 5:57 pm

I’m not afraid of the big bad booster like the vaccine obsessed here.

yeah …

you should have just said 2 years ago that you were shit-scared about getting pneumonia or pleurisy

little wonder you cop flak

m0nty
m0nty
December 8, 2022 5:58 pm

I answered your question already, cohenite. Here is a question for you.

Where is evidence in the Twitter Files that the Democrats got any tweets taken down that weren’t pics of Hunter Biden’s nine inch hog? Keep in mind that the URLs in the relevant screenshots are all dick pics, as confirmed through the Wayback Machine.

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
December 8, 2022 6:00 pm

The Black Death- Ring Around the Rosie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZShF-Js0cy0

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 6:00 pm

he’s pleased they’re talking about nuclear

Actually they’re talking about having a conversation about nuclear. Which is a wimpy as you can get.
Even the Labor Party is less hopeless on this: see the SA Premier last week.

Big_Nambas
Big_Nambas
December 8, 2022 6:03 pm

Rolled gold election promise from our integrity and open government advocate Albo, we will reduce power bills by $275.00 per year, and I keep my promises.

Playing down expectations for a cut to household bills in absolute terms, Chalmers said: “Prices will go up next year, but if we can make them go up by a little bit less, then we should try and do that.”

Dot
Dot
December 8, 2022 6:07 pm

cannabis abuse

Ah yes.

Cannabis “abuse”

Moderate alcohol abuse
Disagreement is abuse
Not buying kids a PS5 is abuse
Free speech abuse

ALL BULLSHIT

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 6:07 pm

m0ntysays:
December 8, 2022 at 5:58 pm
I answered your question already, cohenite. Here is a question for you.

Where is evidence in the Twitter Files that the Democrats got any tweets taken down that weren’t pics of Hunter Biden’s nine inch hog? Keep in mind that the URLs in the relevant screenshots are all dick pics, as confirmed through the Wayback Machine.

How quickly m0nty=fa forgets that the ex-FBI legal eagle who was Deputy General Counsel for Twatter had intervened in the release process, and got sacked for doing so. I wonder what he cut out of the release? Pics of Creepy Joe sniffing the hair of underaged girls? Incriminating emails about 10% for the Big Guy? Links to FBI advice?

Questions, questions, questions, none of which interest m0nty=fa.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 6:08 pm

Monty talking about his screen saver pictures again.

Sneak peek of montys setup.

Monty.
The ex-FBI chap who spent his time running the whole Wussia Wussia crap was employed post sacking by Twitter and used as a conduit to assist in taking down whatever was requested.

Elon Musk has fired Twitter’s deputy general counsel, James Baker, over his alleged suppression of internal documents about blocking The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop exposé.

“In light of concerns about Baker’s possible role in suppression of information important to the public dialogue, he was exited from Twitter today,” Musk tweeted Tuesday.

Musk added that he questioned Baker before his firing about the events surrounding the laptop suppression scandal and that the lawyer’s explanation was “unconvincing.”

Baker, a former top FBI lawyer, was discovered to be secretly vetting the internal Twitter documents before they could be reviewed by journalists, leading to a delay in the release of more material related to the company’s censorship scandal.

“On Friday, the first installment of the Twitter files was published here. We expected to publish more over the weekend. Many wondered why there was a delay,” independent journalist Matt Taibbi tweeted on Tuesday.

“We can now tell you part of the reason why. On Tuesday, Twitter Deputy General Counsel (and former FBI General Counsel) Jim Baker was fired. Among the reasons? Vetting the first batch of ‘Twitter Files’ — without knowledge of new management,” Taibbi added.

Taibbi further revealed that former Wall Street Journal and New York Times writer Bari Weiss is also involved in reviewing the social media giant’s internal documents related to The Post’s Hunter Biden story and that it was she who discovered Baker’s involvement, which Musk was unaware of, according to Taibbi.

In light of concerns about Baker’s possible role in suppression of information important to the public dialogue, he was exited from Twitter today

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 6, 2022
“The process for producing the ‘Twitter Files’ involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to new management. However, after the initial batch, things became complicated,” Taibbi said.

He added that Weiss discovered “that the person in charge of releasing the files was someone named Jim.

“When she called to ask ‘Jim’s’ last name, the answer came back: ‘Jim Baker.’”

Taibbi added in a tweet, “ ‘My jaw hit the floor,’ says Weiss.”

He said the first batch of files both reporters received was marked “Spectra Baker Emails.”

Baker “is a controversial figure,” Taibbi wrote.
“He has been something of a Zelig of FBI controversies dating back to 2016, from the Steele Dossier to the Alfa-Server mess. He resigned in 2018 after an investigation into leaks to the press.

“The news that Baker was reviewing the ‘Twitter files’ surprised everyone involved, to say the least. New Twitter chief Elon Musk acted quickly to ‘exit’ Baker Tuesday,” Taibbi tweeted.

Baker was previously general counsel for the FBI under former Director James Comey and a key figure in the bureau’s investigation into false claims of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

During his time at the FBI, Baker worked with fiercely anti-Trump FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

After leaving the bureau in 2018, Baker reportedly found himself under criminal investigation for allegedly leaking materials to reporters.

Baker has stood by his conduct while at the FBI and with regard to the Russia probe.
This summer, Baker also was a star witness for special counsel John Durham in his case against former Hillary Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann, who was found not guilty in May of lying to the FBI.

In addition, Baker has been linked to Mother Jones reporter David Corn, who broke the news of the existence of the Steele dossier, compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele and loaded with unproven claims about Trump.

Baker allegedly communicated with Corn in the weeks leading up to the November 2016 presidential election before Corn reported on the existence of the dossier on Oct. 31, 2016.

Twitter tapped Baker to help lead its legal team in June 2020, a month after the social media company generated controversy for labeling two Trump tweets claiming that mail-in ballots will lead to a “rigged election” as promoting misinformation.

….

Monty will pretend this is a coincidence.

Dot
Dot
December 8, 2022 6:10 pm

pics of Hunter Biden’s nine inch hog

Good lord do you ever stop obsessing about this?

I hear starch is good for keeping down the urges.

“Honey, I talked my political opponents into submission today by talking about very large white penises owned by trust fund kids in their early fifties…”

You’re like a first year nursing student.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 6:12 pm

The thing that planned the Bali bombing has been released.

Just as well he wasn’t carrying drugs.

For shame, calli, you mustn’t say anything nasty – it’s important to maintain our relationship with Indonesia.

Zipster
Zipster
December 8, 2022 6:14 pm

Report: China Operates 100+ Overseas Police Stations; China Loosens COVID-19 Curbs in Policy Shift
00:54 China Loosens COVID-19 Curbs in Major Policy Shift
03:13 Chinese Citizens Buy Medical Supplies as Rules Ease
04:04 Protests Continue, Students Gather in Two Colleges
04:54 Study: Chinese Citizens Reluctant to Travel Abroad
05:44 Easing Curbs Might Trigger Large Scale Infection: Virologist on China’s Zero COVID-19 Policy
07:55 Report: China Operates 100+ Overseas Police Stations
09:26 Three States Ban TikTok from Government Devices
10:22 U.S. Lawmakers Ease Planned Curbs on Chinese Chips
11:38 U.S. Lawmakers Warn of Chinese Shipping Platform
12:44 Blinken, Austin Meet with Australian Counterparts

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 6:16 pm

Sometimes humor can be found in infantile places.

This is one of them.

https://youtu.be/B-Wd-Q3F8KM

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 6:20 pm

Too cheap to meter news.

New power capacity mechanism will ‘keep the lights on’: Bowen (Sky News, 8 Dec)

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says they will be a “firming” of the power grid moving forward as the capacity mechanism is a “keeping the lights on” measure.

We need a mechanism for “keeping the lights on” do we Mr Bowen? Why would that be? Does it mean we’re going to have blackouts? I’m all ears, especially as you were saying only just before the election how you were going to reduce everyone’s electricity bill by $275.

Beertruk
December 8, 2022 6:20 pm

From the Mocker at the Oz:

Royal aide’s resignation in Fulani racism row fortuitous timing for Sussexes
THE MOCKER
Follow @Oz_Mocker
The palace says Lady Susan Hussey has stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect.

11:03AM DECEMBER 8, 2022

You will, I am sure, join me in sending thoughts and prayers to British activist Ngozi Fulani, who in her words is feeling a “bit drained” and in need of a “rest” following her “traumatic” experience at Buckingham Palace last week.

Attending a reception in her capacity as head of charity Sistah Space, which is dedicated to helping African and Caribbean victims of domestic and sexual abuse, Fulani crossed paths with Lady Susan Hussey, 83, a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and godmother to Prince William.

The encounter, regrettably, was not a positive one. Hussey broached the conversation by repeatedly asking the British-born Fulani about her origins, including the question “What part of Africa are you from?” Credit to Fulani though, for despite her harrowing ordeal she stoically managed to compile a transcript of the conversation, which she tweeted for posterity along with an image of herself.

Britain’s Queen Consort Camilla (right) speaks to guests near Ngozi Fulani (back left) during a reception to raise awareness of violence against women and girls at Buckingham Palace. Picture: AFP
Britain’s Queen Consort Camilla (right) speaks to guests near Ngozi Fulani (back left) during a reception to raise awareness of violence against women and girls at Buckingham Palace. Picture: AFP

The reaction was swift. In an official statement, the palace described the remarks as “unacceptable and deeply regrettable”, saying “the individual concerned would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt caused and has stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect.” In other words, Hussey has been awarded the commoner’s version of a DCM, thus abruptly ending more than 60 years of unpaid service. Harsh but not unexpected.

But for Fulani, this is just the start. “This is bigger than one individual,” she told The Independent. “It’s institutional racism.” Not only was the experience akin to “violence” and “abuse”, she told the BBC, but it “felt like an interrogation”. We hear you. Much like the methods of extraction that used to take place in the Tower of London, only worse.

Fulani has reportedly been invited to meet King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, to discuss the incident. Already she foresees herself providing so-called cultural competency training to the palace. “This is at the heart of what we do at Sistah Space, and it has reiterated to me just how important the work we do is,” she said. This is our cue to stand and applaud I take it?

Ngozi Fulani claims the incident is one of ‘institutional racism’. Picture: Twitter

This cultural competence training is a curious thing. Like much of what falls into the category of rent-seeking, it is increasingly mandated in government and private enterprise. Its overpaid practitioners demand we respect the sensitivities of minorities, but any suggestion they should reciprocate is met with hostility.

Take the case of Fulani. It was an honour for her to be invited to the domain of British royalty, a revered institution that spans millennia. Cultural competence would require that any complaint she had about her treatment there should be made in the first instance to that household and not yelled from the rooftops. It also requires that Fulani not seize on the actions of an individual to smear the entire royal establishment in proclaiming that racism was “institutional” to that body.

Mention this and race activists will accuse you of trying to silence a strong black woman. But the hypocrisy is self-evident. Take Diane Abbott for example. “I was shocked,” the Labour MP and first black woman to be elected to the House of Commons told CNN regarding Hussey. “It’s 2022, and somebody can speak like that and think like that.” But Abbott is not above race-baiting. In 2012, the then opposition frontbencher controversially tweeted “White people love playing ‘divide & rule’. We should not play their game”. Initially claiming this was “taken out of context”, she later apologised only when ordered to by then Labour leader Ed Miliband. Unlike Hussey, she retained her position.

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights group says Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, have shown courage in challenging the royal family’s ‘power structure’. Picture: Getty Images

But if anyone deserves a prize for chutzpah, it is Fulani’s friend, fellow activist, and leader of the Women’s Equality Party, Mandu Reid. “Neither Ngozi nor I wanted Hussey to receive the grand order of the boot,” wrote Reid, who had witnessed the conversation, in the Guardian. “Ngozi didn’t even name her publicly; it was social media that did this, immediately seizing on the story as another chance to form into polarised rival camps.”

This is disingenuous in the extreme. In her initial tweet, Fulani had referred to “a member of staff, Lady SH”. You would not have to be Scotland Yard to work out within minutes that the subject was Hussey. As for her rapid termination, somehow Reid even managed to skew this. “Blaming Hussey risks minimising and distracting from the depth and breadth of racism that is enshrined in an institution that carries the heritage of empire, slavery and inequality,” she wrote. And if the palace had not ended Hussey’s tenure immediately, you could be sure Reid and Fulani would be screeching this was further evidence of racism.

Like Reid, Fulani has a set against the royal family, having claimed last year on social media that the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, was the victim of domestic violence at the hands of her in-laws. It raises an interesting question: if the two detest the institution, why did they attend the reception in question?

You’re watching
Accusations of racism threaten to overshadow Royals’ U.S. trip
Allegations of racism against an aide back home are threatening to overshadow the Prince and Princess of Wales’…

The bigger irony is that both activists are behaving like princesses. As commentator Katherine Bennett noted in Catholic Herald: “The first line on her [Fulani’s] website is ‘my parents came to London from the Caribbean’. So proud is she of her heritage that she chooses to illuminate it at every opportunity, except when asked about it by an elderly white aristocrat.” The timing could not be better for the Sussexes, given the release today of the first three episodes of their six-part Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan. As I write this Markle no doubt is rehearsing for the camera her spontaneous reaction to the news of Hussey’s faux pas. Steel yourself for the sight of the duchess collapsing as she wails like a banshee.

This week the American advocacy group Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights awarded the couple its annual Ripple of Hope prize. According to the organisation’s president both had shown courage in challenging the royal family’s “power structure”. That was Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of the late senator, who shares with the Sussexes a spectacular inability to self-reflect.

Incidentally, Hussey’s daughter Lady Katherine Brooke was appointed last month to serve in the newly created role of Queen’s Companion. If she officiates at a reception where either Fulani or Reid is present, then I suggest she say this: “As a descendant of the First Peoples, I welcome you to this country. I ask in return that you pay your respects to Indigenous people of this land and acknowledge past, present, and emerging Elders. Always was, always will be, the land of the Britons.”

THE MOCKER

cohenite
December 8, 2022 6:21 pm

I answered your question already, cohenite. Here is a question for you.

No you didn’t, you lying little dickless POS. You said Tabbi said there were examples of Trump interference but no examples were given. Just like your dick.

Examples of joe and business deals: see all these on the laptop: Bobulinski, Andres Pastrana Arango, Daniel Kablan Duncan. Fuck me, what am I doing. Justifying myself to a creep like you. The great Miranda Devine summed it all up.

Look, you’re a dickless liar. The evidence of dementia joe using his son as a go between for deals involving the sell out of the US is all over the laptop but I understand that leftie creeps like yourself just have to lie about it. And of course your focus on hunter’s dong is understandable.

Robert Sewell
December 8, 2022 6:24 pm

Rosie:

Btw, When will the anti vaxx hysteria season end?

It will end when the COVID hysteria ends and the old women of the media and government get bored with their latest excuse for minding everyone else’s business and just shuts the fuck up.

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 6:26 pm

cohenite

And of course your focus on hunter’s dong is understandable.

Dickless has a bad case of penis envy?

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
December 8, 2022 6:26 pm

I have zero concerns about nonsensical hidden side effects that will suddenly manifest themselves years later.

Now you’re just being irrational to defend your position.

I agree with Rosie thata there is a lot of overstatement and panic about unlikely long-term side effects, but I also think that there is a real cause for caution re heart issues and also with auto-immune problems.

The heart issues are relatively rare, but real, and could end up as more serious in the longer term, setting in train a process of deterioration that may be less rare, and not just for men. I had an inexplicable heavy heartbeat for a few days exactly two weeks after taking Novavax as a ‘booster’. I’ve gone off the idea of more boosters, was never very keen but took it to forestall o/s travel issues at my age. I’ve had Covid; so natural immunty will do me in future. My middle-aged son, who hasn’t taken much care of his health, developed severe wrist sinovitis (MRI identified) a week after his second Pfizer jab and I worry that this might kick off further auto immune problems; so far he seems to be healing well, after months of agony, but there’s always a question mark there about aetiology and future prognosis. So while life is uncertain anyway, ending further jabs of dubious proven value might be wise for most, unless truly in risk categories where the balance favors the jab. I think it is essential for kids and young people to avoid further Covid jabs; the risks vs Covid don’t stack up at all for them.

Top Ender
Top Ender
December 8, 2022 6:29 pm

Indigenous voice to parliament is an affront to democracy
CHRIS MERRITT

On November 30, Anthony Albanese stood in the House of Representatives holding a copy of a report that he said contained 280 pages of detail about how the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament “will operate”.

It can only be hoped this was a rhetorical lapse. If not, and the Prime Minister actually meant what he said, the voice will be more deeply flawed than previously believed.

If Albanese implements the report he displayed in parliament, the problems will extend well beyond the fact that it would be a race-based national institution embedded in the Constitution.

It would be an anti-democratic abomination.

If this plan goes ahead, everyday Australians who happen to be Indigenous will have no control over the new institution. It will be representative in name only.

The report Albanese referred to in parliament would not give Indigenous people a right to elect the 24 members of the voice who would purport to speak on their behalf.

Instead of being accountable to everyday people who happen to be Indigenous, the real power over the voice would be vested in local and regional “voices” that would decide the membership of the new organisation.

There would be no requirement for the powerbrokers at these local organisations to be elected to office; and once in office they would control who sits on the national voice.

But there would be no need for them to conduct elections. Selection would be perfectly acceptable. This is spelled out in the report that, according to Albanese, describes how the voice will operate.

He was referring to the final report of the Indigenous Voice Co-design Process, presented to the Morrison government in July last year by Marcia Langton and Tom Calma. According to Albanese: “There are 280 pages of detail about how the voice will operate.”

If that report’s proposals have in fact been endorsed by the government, Indigenous people will have no right to vote for those members of the voice whose views they support; nor will they have the right to remove those whose views they detest. The real power would rest with those running the local and regional voices, some of whom would come to these influential positions by non-democratic means.

This is how the report describes the model for regional voices: “Each region decides how best to draw its Voice members (i.e. election, nomination/expressions of interest/selection, drawing on structures based in traditional law and custom, or a combination) and how many Voice members there will be … ”

That leaves the way open for the erosion of democratic principle at all levels of the voice. Elections would be optional, not mandatory.

“The national Voice membership would be structurally linked to the local and regional Voices by the local and regional Voices within each jurisdiction collectively selecting national Voice members,” the report says.

“Secondary options under this model may be used if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of the relevant jurisdiction agree.

“An election or expression of interest process may still be held for a jurisdiction if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in those areas prefer. This decision would be made with the relevant local and regional Voices,” it says.

The Langton-Calma report also shows that the distribution of members of the voice between the states will be done in a manner that is best described as a gerrymander.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, NSW has 339,546 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, which gives that state 34.5 per cent of the nation’s Indigenous population of 984,002 – the highest proportion of any state.

Yet the Langton-Calma report would give NSW a total of just three representatives on the voice, the same as South Australia which has just 52,083 Indigenous people, the Northern Territory (76,736) and Western Australia (120,037).

But the greatest anomaly is due to the fact that the report treats the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of Queensland, as a separate jurisdiction and gives them two seats on the voice plus an additional seat for islanders who reside on the mainland.

When those three seats are included in Queensland’s tally, the sunshine state looks set to gain disproportionate influence over the direction of the voice.

Queensland, including the Torres Strait Islands, will have six of the 24 seats on the voice — twice as many as NSW.

Yet last year’s population estimates by the ABS show that Queensland had just 273,224 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, which is 66,322 fewer than in NSW.

If this is how the new institution will operate the government has some explaining to do before we are asked to embed such an undemocratic entity in the Constitution.

Why will Queensland benefit from a gerrymander that will allow it to dominate the voice?

Why will Indigenous people in NSW be under-represented?

Why will Indigenous people everywhere be denied the right to vote for members of the voice and – more importantly – to vote them out of office?

And if the government plans to allow membership of the all-important local and regional voices to be determined by what the report describes as “traditional law and custom”, will the Federal Court be asked to settle disputes about the content of those traditional laws and customs?

The bigger issue is that the voice looks like a throwback to less enlightened times. It will suffer from the same democratic deficit that once existed in this country under the authoritarian rule of colonial British governors. But this time, those exercising unaccountable power will be black, not white.

Chris Merritt is vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia.

Oz

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 6:39 pm

But this time, those exercising unaccountable power will be black, not white.

The “Big Men”, in other words.

calli
calli
December 8, 2022 6:51 pm

power capacity mechanism

Used to be called a “Power Station”.

Worked quite well.

Now Old and Busted.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
December 8, 2022 6:51 pm

Just answered a question from a market research company on the coming State election with regard to Vaucluse in my electorate. They wanted to know main issue on which my vote will be cast and I said energy policy, but was firm that it was because I disagreed with the current Net Zero stance and would seek a party that was against it. Allegra Spender received the contempt a Teal deserves as did the – spit – Greens.

I think I would probably be categorized as ‘disaffected Liberal’, voting intention LDP.
Masters Degree in a scientific field.

Wonder where they got my mobile number.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 6:52 pm

No say for Senator Linda Reynolds on Brittany Higgins’ claims

Exclusive
By ROSIE LEWIS
Political Correspondent
@rosieslewis
4:39PM December 8, 2022

Former defence minister Linda Reynolds won’t be able to contest any allegations brought by Brit­tany Higgins against her in court, as the former Liberal staffer pursues mediation to settle a civil claim against the commonwealth.

Ms Higgins is set to head to mediation next Tuesday in a bid to reach an out-of-court settlement with the commonwealth.

Sources aware of the matter said Senator Reynolds, whose parliamentary office Ms Higgins alleged she was raped in during the early hours of March 23, 2019, had wanted the claims against her made public so she could fight them. “This is what she was fighting to prevent,” a source said of the mediation.

The statute of limitations for Ms Higgins to sue her former commonwealth employers Senator Reynolds and Michaelia Cash expired in March, preventing the 28-year-old from bringing a claim after that date.

But sources familiar with the matter said Senator Reynolds had agreed to waive the time limit until December 6, while Senator Cash and the commonwealth agreed on a waiver until February. Because no documents have been filed and the December 6 deadline has passed, The Australian was told Senator Reynolds could no longer be listed as a ­respondent in the case.

She has insisted any claims against her are tested in court. For that to happen, documents had to have been filed. Senator Reynolds declined to comment, as did Ms Higgins’ lawyer, Noor Blumer.

“Noor Blumer and Blumers Lawyers will not be responding to or commenting on any aspect of this confidential matter,” Ms Blumer’s spokesman said.

It is understood Ms Higgins is pursuing Senator Reynolds, Senator Cash and the commonwealth for around $3m.

Senator Reynolds was forced to apologise to Ms Higgins after it was revealed in The Australian she had called her former staffer “a lying cow”, prompting Ms Higgins to pursue defamation action.

Senator Reynolds, who was on medical leave at the time and a senior cabinet minister, had to pay damages to Ms Higgins, which were donated to a sexual assault charity.

The former colleague Ms Higgins accused of rape, Bruce Lehrmann, pleaded not guilty in a criminal trial and denied any sexual intercourse took place.

The original trial was aborted over juror misconduct and the ACT DPP, Shane Drumgold, announced last week a retrial would not go ahead and charges against Mr Lehrmann had been dropped over concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health.

Ms Higgins is being cared for in hospital.

johanna
johanna
December 8, 2022 6:53 pm

thefrollickingmole says:
December 8, 2022 at 1:29 pm

Geez this is awful.

How much time/money/brainpower might have been wasted here?

https://www.sciencealert.com/reigning-theory-of-alzheimer-s-may-be-based-on-fraudulent-images-per-new-report

A seminal 2006 study of Alzheimer’s disease might contain fabricated results, an investigation from Science magazine found.

The investigation uncovered evidence suggesting several instances of image manipulation in the work of Sylvain Lesné, a researcher working at the University of Minnesota and an author of the 2006 study.
A seminal 2006 study of Alzheimer’s disease might contain fabricated results, an investigation from Science magazine found.

The investigation uncovered evidence suggesting several instances of image manipulation in the work of Sylvain Lesné, a researcher working at the University of Minnesota and an author of the 2006 study.

All, I repeat, all, of those pretty coloured brain imaging pictures are useless. (I exclude the diagnostic medical ones that identify tumours and injuries).

If you trace back past the press releases, you will find that they are on a par with astrology.

Robert Sewell
December 8, 2022 6:54 pm

Regarding the Voice, can someone pick out say, 5 of the most important points for us to focus on?

H B Bear
H B Bear
December 8, 2022 6:55 pm

Downer on Kenny saying …

Another road to Damascus moment. FOAD Lieborals.

calli
calli
December 8, 2022 6:58 pm

But sources familiar with the matter said Senator Reynolds had agreed to waive the time limit until December 6, while Senator Cash and the commonwealth agreed on a waiver until February. Because no documents have been filed and the December 6 deadline has passed, The Australian was told Senator Reynolds could no longer be listed as a ­respondent in the case.

What a dope. I hope Cash has a bit more brain power. All that VO5 must be holding something in. Surely.

calli
calli
December 8, 2022 7:00 pm

Ms Higgins is being cared for in hospital.

That’s nice. Small comfort for all those desperate for treatment.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
December 8, 2022 7:02 pm

We need a mechanism for “keeping the lights on” do we Mr Bowen? Why would that be? Does it mean we’re going to have blackouts?

Also, Mr. Bowen, how about you address the issue of aluminium and steel smeltering in this country, and other sorts of manufacturing, as these industries look like pulling out and putting their business in more sensible countries, not captive to the Klimate Kult, where energy is coal fired and cheaper?

Roger
Roger
December 8, 2022 7:02 pm

I’m all ears, especially as you were saying only just before the election how you were going to reduce everyone’s electricity bill by $275.

That promise has been revised.

The new version is that they will limit power price increases to $275 a year.

Robert Sewell
December 8, 2022 7:03 pm

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/going-filing-lawsuit-friday-kari-lake-guest-hosts-america-first-sebastian-gorka-video/?ff_source=Email&ff_medium=the-gateway-pundit&ff_campaign=dailypm&ff_content=2022-12-07

The election was an uncertifiable disaster in Maricopa County when voting machines and printers suddenly stopped working at over 30% of voting centers the moment the polls opened on Election Day. Republican voters were forced to wait in extremely long lines, turned away from the polls, or told to deposit their ballots in the questionable “box 3” for misread ballots.

Indolent
Indolent
December 8, 2022 7:03 pm
Roger
Roger
December 8, 2022 7:05 pm

Ms Higgins is being cared for in hospital.

From where she apparently consults daily with her lawyers.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
December 8, 2022 7:05 pm

Talk about leaving us captive to the whims of China, who make all of the wind turbines and solar panels which will be up for continual replacement, at high CO2 cost btw to say nothing of a bit of price gouging coming up? Do these politicians have any brains at all? Their CO2 ‘logic’ is never internally consistent, to say nothing of their non-existent realpolitik, it all works on feelzzzz.

Roger
Roger
December 8, 2022 7:07 pm

Their plans for us, in details with backup reports.

Great Reset Plan by 2030: No Meat-Dairy-Private Cars, Little Clothing & Air Travel

If I were a betting man I’d be looking for good odds on this not happening.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 7:07 pm

Regarding the Voice, can someone pick out say, 5 of the most important points for us to focus on?

All the voice will be is a vehicle for the activists and an instrument of division.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 7:09 pm

Once the “Voice” is enshrined in the Constitution, should it become ATSIC Mark 2, what steps can be taken?

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
December 8, 2022 7:14 pm

Ms Higgins is being cared for in hospital.

From where she apparently consults daily with her lawyers.

Shriving her soul?

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 7:15 pm

DPP Shane Drumgold accuses police of interference in Bruce Lehrmann trial
By STEPHEN RICE
NSW Editor
@riceyontheroad
7:08PM December 8, 2022

The increasingly bitter row between ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC and the Australian Federal Police over the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann has exploded into open warfare, with the chief prosecutor demanding an inquiry into “inappropriate interference” in the case by police.

In a letter to ACT police chief Neil Gaughan, Mr Drumgold alleges police engaged in “a very clear campaign” to pressure him not to prosecute Mr Lehrmann over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins.

In the letter, sent on November 1 just after the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct, Mr Drumgold calls for a public inquiry to examine “both political and police conduct” in the case.
Read Next

“There has now been over one-and-a-half years of consistent and inappropriate interference by investigators, firstly directed towards my independence with a very clear campaign to pressure me to agree with the investigators’ desire not to charge, then during the conduct of this trial itself, and finally attempting to influence any decision on a retrial.”

The release of the letter comes on the heels of revelations by The Australian that police believed there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Lehrmann but could not stop the DPP from doing so because “there is too much political interference”.

Mr Drumgold was reported to have expressed “serious concern about the potentially unlawful sharing of police material” after publication of the documents by The Australian.

Some lawyers now believe Mr Drumgold’s position is untenable, with the breakdown of his relationship with police likely to have a damaging effect on the administration of justice in the ACT.

Leading Canberra criminal lawyer Peter Woodhouse, who has called for Mr Drumgold’s resignation, said the public “could not have any faith that the criminal justice system in the ACT is going to function properly”.

Mr Woodhouse said that because both the ACT police force and the DPP office were small, the breakdown in the relationship meant there was “nowhere to hide”.

“It is only a matter of time before that spills over and impacts other serious criminal matters in the Territory,” he said.

Mr Drumgold alleges in his letter, obtained by The Guardian through freedom of information laws, that “key AFP members have had a strong desire for this matter not to proceed to charge”.

Mr Drumgold claimed police had used “blatant misrepresentations of evidence such as suggestions that key evidence was deliberately deleted by the complainant, a proposition not supported by the tested evidence at trial, as well as a list of evidence that is clearly inadmissable in trial,” he said.

Mr Drumgold also alleges that during the investigation Ms Higgins felt pressured and bullied by police, “who she felt were pressuring her into discontinuing the complaint”.

Mr Drumgold also alleged inappropriate contact by police with Mr Lehrmann’s defence team during the trial, with detectives meeting his lawyers during breaks in the proceedings, and that the defence team had asked police directly to conduct further investigations into some issues.

One instance of collaboration was discovered by prosecutors, Mr Drumgold said, when prosecutors received an email from an investigator about a piece of evidence noting: “The bosses just want to confirm it has been seen and passed onto defence.”

Just 16 minutes later, according to Mr Drumgold, the investigator tried to recall the email and replace the words “The bosses just want to confirm” with “I’m just checking”.

An ACT Policing spokesperson said that as Mr Drumgold had requested a public inquiry into the matter “it would be inappropriate to provide any further comment in relation to any aspects surrounding this matter including commentary about the letter from the ACT DPP.”

“ACT Policing will continue to work cooperatively with the Office of DPP to ensure the safety and security of the Canberra community,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Drumgold did not respond to The Australian’s requests for comment.

Frank
Frank
December 8, 2022 7:17 pm

power capacity mechanism

Used to be called a “Power Station”.

Saw a water bottle for sale the other day which was labelled as a “Sports Rehydration Centre”. That one was pretty special.

Roger
Roger
December 8, 2022 7:18 pm

Once the “Voice” is enshrined in the Constitution, should it become ATSIC Mark 2, what steps can be taken?

This is where Albanese’s minimal proposal may come a cropper.

The less detail there is, the more the final model will be in the hand sof the government of the day.

Which means future governments can reform or even abolish what is subsequently set up, provided the requirements of the constituional amendment are met, which could be done with quite a minimalist model.

Frank
Frank
December 8, 2022 7:21 pm

“If you trace back past the press releases, you will find that they are on a par with astrology.”

You don’t have to look far for some spiv that will point to the readouts and claim they prove that free will is an illusion. A perennial favourite that one.

H B Bear
H B Bear
December 8, 2022 7:23 pm

Oh dear. Should be a few interesting dinner parties in ACT legal circles.

Jorge
Jorge
December 8, 2022 7:25 pm

‘Glitter Nova’ a youth event with drag queens, DJs etc at the Pride Centre at St Kilda tonight has been postponed after a small group of ‘extreme right wing’ protestors turned up.
Good.

It started with legalising homosexual relationships.

It moved on to gay marriage.

Now it’s all about getting bringing the young to bed.

calli
calli
December 8, 2022 7:25 pm

I see Drumgold is doing a bit of damage control. Nice try.

Roger
Roger
December 8, 2022 7:32 pm

I see Drumgold is doing a bit of damage control. Nice try.

Having lost the confidence of the ACT Bar Association and now burning bridges with police, seems Mr. Drumgold has opted to be pushed rather than jump.

rosie
rosie
December 8, 2022 7:34 pm

I’m aware of at least one myocarditis death in New Zealand, in one case where no warning was given to the young man and he didn’t realise his immediate symptoms were very serious.

The heart issues are relatively rare, but real, and could end up as more serious in the longer term

No evidence of this being a long term issue.
what the fully pfizered Israelis found.

Robert Sewell
December 8, 2022 7:46 pm

AEMO Data Dashboard.
74% from Carbins.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
December 8, 2022 7:50 pm

CO2 information for kiddies (good news from Grandma) and starry-eyed adults (grow up):

There is no supposed ‘warming effect’ that is beyond normal historical cyclical limits. A ‘global’ figure is a chimeric measurement. Tree rings, ice cores and other imperfect long term identifiers of climatic variation are subject to many local variations. Net Zero is based on CO2 modelling. CO2 is an unproven climate driver. Water vapour and the circulation of winds is an important climate driver. In general, the modelling is all hypothetical; the climate models are simply hypotheses, which need empirical validation to be considered realistic.

So far, there is no empirical validation worth getting upset about. The empirical data that we do have now show all is well within normal limits.
There are no unusual trends.
Empirical (hard data evidence) shows that there are:

NO hurricanes increasing in number or severity
NO melting ice poles only cyclical changes, including advancing ice, i.e normal variations
NO significant rises in sea levels; some Pacific islands are growing, some land is sinking.
NO change in the major oceanic oscillations, only minor cyclical variations in cooling/warming
NO change in glaciation – some glaciers are increasing, others are receeding, it’s what they do
NO loss of coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef, it’s in an expanding phase
NO bushfires worse in Australia than ever seen before – many historically have been worse
NO floods worse in Australia than ever seen before – many historically have been worse
NO decline in polar bear numbers, they have increased; ice floes are part of their natural habitat
NO species loss for major animal species where habitat protection maintains numbers
NO loss of honeybee pollination in Europe; that was a beat-up
NO significant acid rain nor Ozone holes, the fake bugbears before CO2 cultism
NO end to snow and rain and winters; if anything the earth is in a low sunspot cooling phase

Coal and gas and oil are going to be important to the world economy for any reasonable future.
Wind turbines and glass solar panels are all made in China and are NOT RENEWABLES. They need replacing every 15 to 20 years. Compact nuclear plants are safe as a future technology, but nothing is currently wrong with modern coal and gas energy production.
Our high quality black coal is a foundation of our export economy, as is our iron ore. They are not evil.

SO – kiddies, please stop being panicked and enjoy being young. Nothing is wrong with the world.
Your major problem is that your future is being stolen from you by the de-industrialisation, inflation and job losses brought about by unnecessary climate policies, based on the unachievable fantasy of Net Zero CO2 from human life. Humans live in a carbon based world; we and all living things, plants or animals, are carbon based lifeforms. That we change our climate by producing CO2 is a junk hypothesis which is not supported by empirical evidence.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 7:54 pm

Rosie.

Just stop.
You are the vaccination equivalent of a a poster.

You are asking people to trust that the organisations and governments that did this will report honestly on any adverse outcomes.

Companies have incentive to lie for profits and to avoid lawsuits.
Governments are incentivised to avoid the backlash from their thuggery of the last 2 years.

I’ve listened as a chap who had an immediate life threatening reaction to a shot, requiring medical intervention to stop him dying was told by a representative of the WA doc in charge of vaccinations that his episode “ might have been from anything, like a change in the weather”.

There is exactly zero credibility left for them to burn.
Up there with “ trusted internet sources” for information.

Roger
Roger
December 8, 2022 7:57 pm

Excellent digest of the argument, Lizzie.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
December 8, 2022 7:59 pm

Q poster.
Ffs spellwrecker

John H.
John H.
December 8, 2022 7:59 pm

thefrollickingmole says:
December 8, 2022 at 1:29 pm

Geez this is awful.

How much time/money/brainpower might have been wasted here?

Next to zero. The research relies on thousands of studies done in many different ways. That something becomes a footnote does make it a cardinal issue determining all the other research.

Top Ender
Top Ender
December 8, 2022 8:05 pm

Regarding the Voice, can someone pick out say, 5 of the most important points for us to focus on?

1) why women in Outback communities get clobbered non-stop
2) why Outback communities actually exist at all, seeing as all of the good infrastructure of the 21st century is in modern town and cities
3) why almost everyone in Outback communities does nothing all day, and the rest of the country pays them to do it
4) how can someone who is white with blue eyes keep claiming they are being discriminated against for being black
5) why Aussie taxpayers keep throwing money into this idiotic situation

Ok now?

Frank
Frank
December 8, 2022 8:08 pm

Rosie and Struth might make for a reality TV blind date scenario worth watching.

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 8:09 pm

That’s not what we’re talking about here and the Prime Minister’s continuing to say ‘well, look we’re not going to provide any of the detail, People can vote on the Saturday about whether they want to change the Constitution and if that goes through, then we’ll give you the detail on the Monday’.

“I just don’t think it makes any sense.”

Linda Burney is on record already as saying that “Once the “Voice” is enshrined in the Constitution, they won’t be able to get rid of it, the way they did ATSIC.”

You cannot vote on a definite maybe. With no detail whatsoever. Albo, you are a Fat Twat (and need to lose more fat) and don’t understand a letter of the words in Democracy…………………….Crunt

m0nty
m0nty
December 8, 2022 8:10 pm

Examples of joe and business deals: see all these on the laptop: Bobulinski, Andres Pastrana Arango, Daniel Kablan Duncan.

Bloody hell, you mean Hunter Biden received two billion USD from a murderous billionaire with which his dad was negotiating a major international security deal?

Oh wait, that was Jared Kushner.

John H.
John H.
December 8, 2022 8:12 pm

The Ultimate Guide to the Anti-Ship Cruise Missile

This Aussie has some interesting videos. I doubt many people are aware that as some Italian navy ships was being sailed to Malta for a handover to the Allies the Germans used guided bombs to sink an Italian battleship.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
December 8, 2022 8:17 pm

1) why women in Outback communities get clobbered non-stop
2) why Outback communities actually exist at all, seeing as all of the good infrastructure of the 21st century is in modern town and cities
3) why almost everyone in Outback communities does nothing all day, and the rest of the country pays them to do it
4) how can someone who is white with blue eyes keep claiming they are being discriminated against for being black
5) why Aussie taxpayers keep throwing money into this idiotic situation

1) Traditional culture.

2) Traditional culture.

3) Traditional culture.

4) Traditional culture.

5) Traditional culture.

Robert Sewell
December 8, 2022 8:20 pm

Biden Quotes Scripture, Vows to ‘Limit the Number of Bullets That Can Be in a Cartridge’

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/07/biden-quotes-scripture-vows-limit-number-bullets-cartridge/
Oh, for Gods sake…

Dot
Dot
December 8, 2022 8:32 pm

‘Limit the Number of Bullets That Can Be in a Cartridge’

On average, it’s already about one.

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
December 8, 2022 8:34 pm

Rosie’s just pissed that Lizzie didn’t hold on for a few more years and now she’s stuck with a card from Charlie.
The vaccination is the revolver on the desk in the drawing room.

rosie
rosie
December 8, 2022 8:39 pm

Rosie’s just pissed that Lizzie didn’t hold on for a few more years and now she’s stuck with a card from Charlie.

What?

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
December 8, 2022 8:47 pm

The heart issues are relatively rare, but real, and could end up as more serious in the longer term

No evidence of this being a long term issue.
what the fully pfizered Israelis found.

That wasn’t exactly a long-term cohort study, not over even a few years which would be the standard for long term effects, and while the young people recovered well there is always the possibility of latent cardiac damage showing up much later in life; and the incidence is quite high as a problem with a vaxx. Although relative numbers affected are lower for males in the older ages (not covered in this study), their cardiac stressors are always more developed and the vaxx may have a longer term effect in older men. Again, I stress, the numbers are low for older men but they are not negligable in a major population cohort.
No need for panic stations, but some caution might be advised. So I don’t really wish to change my opinion in that first sentence above. There is a cardiac issue, of some concern.

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 8:48 pm

Lizzie

Also, Mr. Bowen, how about you address the issue of aluminium and steel smeltering in this country, and other sorts of manufacturing, as these industries look like pulling out and putting their business in more sensible countries,

I’m old enough to remember when the Labor Party would have been up in arms about the prospect of major industries being forced to close down by government policies (actually government slavishly implementing the agenda of unaccountable foreign bodies and oligarchs). Now they destroy the jobs of what used to be their base, and delight in doing so.

Rockdoctor
Rockdoctor
December 8, 2022 8:50 pm

sfwsays:
December 8, 2022 at 10:20 am

Welcome to NQ. I was in Cairns last weekend on Trinity Beach, back in the ‘ville now about 343km by road south. You picked a beautiful time to visit, a less humid dryer spell than we have been getting in the build up to the wet. MJO must have racked off. Enjoy.

Armour Museum at Smithfield a good look, Skyrail to Kuranda and the train back thoroughly recommended. Plenty to do round Cairns even if you are into a quiet beer and counter meal in a pub. Plenty around the CBD, one across from Cairns Central not too bad.

Just watch the park itinerants, common problem in the north. They pester everyone for money and are quite bothersome atm.

Johnny Rotten
December 8, 2022 8:56 pm

Merry Christmas again……………………………lol

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/QgrcJHrjCsBWZFxSxVKdwqfjpCXXPwSRqXL?projector=1

2dogs
December 8, 2022 9:00 pm

Bloody hell, you mean Hunter Biden received two billion USD from a murderous billionaire with which his dad was negotiating a major international security deal?

Oh wait, that was Jared Kushner.

Also worthy of investigation. But Affinity Partners were, at least, competently qualified to manage Saudi money. What qualifications did Hunter have to be on the Burisma board?

Boambee John
Boambee John
December 8, 2022 9:02 pm

Dotsays:
December 8, 2022 at 8:32 pm
‘Limit the Number of Bullets That Can Be in a Cartridge’

On average, it’s already about one.

Didn’t Creepy Joe once boast about “racking” a shotgun to scare someone away from his house? Maybe he thinks that all firearms are shotguns?

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  1. https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1new6U.img?w=32&h=32&q=60&m=6&f=png&u=t Daily Mail John Deere faces farmer boycott after laying off 2,100 US workers while moving work to Mexico

  2. Plus infinity KD. Vic Pol if want some support for their wage rise demand, from family there’s none ATM from…

  3. I strongly suspect that if Israel was annihilated the Disrupt Wars people (probably Marxists) would dance on its grave.

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