Month: January 2023

  • Rafe’s Roundup Jan 24

    Drop in and see what they are up to! The Energy Realists of Australia Jo Nova Quadrant on line IPA         Climate and energy program  CIS          The Sydney Institute Menzies Research Centre  Mannkal Economics Education Foundation           Advance Australia  Taxpayers Alliance  Australian Inst for Progress The Conservative Vagabond The Rathouse and The Site of Kilmeny Niland How Africa defeated COVID so decisively without vaccines Read this alongside the…

  • Open Thread – Tue 24 Jan 2023

    Andromache mourning Hector, Jacques Louis David, 1783

  • The Extraordinary Voice

    The Prime Minister’s suggested form of words for insertion into the Constitution to create the Voice seems to be the preferred option. For its proponents, it has the distinct political advantage of being extraordinarily vague. Presumably it will be the substantive part of the referendum question. It goes like this: It might pass. After all,…

  • Guest post: Speedbox – Taliban Supercar

    I will admit I never imagined writing the words Taliban and Supercar in the same sentence.  But, a few days ago, the Taliban unveiled the prototype of Afghanistan’s first locally developed supercar, manufactured by Kabul-based Entop.   Known as the Mada 9, this car comes to us from a war-torn and dirt-poor country whose ruling militia…

  • John Kerry, our savior

    “When you start to think about it, it’s pretty extraordinary that we – a select group of human beings, because of whatever touched us at some point in our lives – are able to sit in a room and come together and actually talk about saving the planet,” Kerry told a WEF panel on Tuesday. “It’s…

  • Open Thread – Weekend 21 Jan 2023

    The Rocky Mountains Lander’s Peak, Albert Bierstadt, 1863

  • Solutioneering

    A pervasive pathology of government policy and planning In a discussion of the policy blunder of connecting intermittent energy providers to the grid, I was alerted to an IPA study of 20 state and federal policies. The study used ten criteria including establishing need, setting objectives, identifying options, designing implementation pathways and consultation with stakeholders.…

  • No State Funeral for Cardinal Pell

    The first State Funerals in Australia honoured the explorers Robert Burke and William Wills in Melbourne in 1863 after their attempt to cross the continent from south to north ended in failure. Today, State Funerals in Australia more often recognise statesmanship (politicians), and the more human level of endeavour than was the case in the…

  • WolfmanOz at the Movies #54

    A real tough guy Born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr. on February 19th, 1924, Lee Marvin, known for his premature white hair and bass voice, grew from playing hard-boiled vicious tough guy characters into one of the leading movie stars of the 1960s, and one of my favourites from this era. His childhood was tough. His…

  • SA windpower fails, as usual

    It is time for the politicians, planners and commentator to face the fact that wind and solar power have failed in South Australia. This is the wind leader, the trail-blazing pioneer of the new age of “clean” power. It has become the canary in the coal mine, the red flag, a warning to all who…