The day after hamarse threaten to kill all hostages this slithering piece of toe jam oozes from behind the ingrown toenail it lives in and opens its turd chute to opine.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/dec/12/australia-news-live-cyclone-jasper-queensland-migration-cost-of-living-interest-rates-jim-chalmers-housing-infrastructure-bruce-lehrmann
Ed Husic says innocent Palestinians have paid ‘too heavy a price’ for Hamas atrocities
Labor MP Ed Husic just spoke to ABC RN about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

There is that requirement, I think, to observe international humanitarian law in particular, that involves not targeting hospitals, that involves not targeting civilians, and I think we should never hesitate – and I don’t think we have in our foreign minister – the emphasis repeatedly on respecting international humanitarian law.

…
Husic calls out ‘McCarthyism’ in relation to people expressing concern on what is happening in Gaza

I think people should be able to express their concern and stand with humanity and say that they are very concerned about what they’re seeing in Gaza, and they shouldn’t have to face professional retribution as a response.

Ed Husic calls for second ceasefire

Ed Husic clearly said that a ceasefire needs to occur:

Hamas can play a role in accelerating towards the ceasefire by releasing hostages and Israel needs to cease the action that it’s undertaking that has seen a phenomenal loss of life in that part of the world.

Husic: ‘These kids are not Hamas’

I think we’ve got to do better – those kids are not Hamas and they should not have had to bore the brunt of that military action.

He said that Palestinians have paid “too heavy a price” for the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October, and he is concerned by the amount of people losing their lives “that are innocent and have nothing to do with the barbarity of Hamas”.

Sure Ed. All that Pali rejoicing in Gaza the ME definitely shows how much they opposed the atrocities.

Hey, I’m supportive of the Jewish community-
it’s just I’m not allowed to flash a piece of steel on my belt

Given Jordan has a border with Israel, this mans opinion matters.

Do you really think proximity to Israel makes people smarter? Is it something to do with breathing Jewish air? It doesn’t appear to work for Gaza.

History shows us what happens when powerful government forces try to crush irregulars – they win on the battlefield but lose the hearts and minds. Unless its ‘different this time’ (a dangerous assumption), the Jordanian FM is right, irrespective of any local tactical success, Israel’s current course will produce strategic defeat, it may already have done so.

I think if you looked at such matters more deeply you’d find a lot of less notable examples where irregulars were smashed by forces of the establishment.

Just about every Irish rebellion
Battle of Vinegar Hill
Masada
Rump Saxon forces loyal to Godwinson & Hereward the Wake
etc

You’re also being proven wrong in real time. Hamas effectively doesn’t exist now and Hezbollah are reduced to internet trolling.

It’s a good thing to be wrong sometimes.

Germany in WWII beat the crap out of all partisan movements bar the forces of Tito who were assisted massively by the allies.

The French Resistance was nationwide and suffered harrowing losses whilst being supported by and working with the SOR and USAAF & RAF.

The Partisans and French resistance are incomparable to Hamas.

Israel is not under a predicate of permanent occupation. They can annex it with expulsions or quarantine Gaza and leave it alone.

I dont know what the solution is, indeed, given the ‘irreconcilable differences’ between the parties, there may not be one. If that is true, the conflict will go on until one side no longer remains in the middle east. The muslim/jewish population ratios indicate which side will remain if that happens.

While the mullah’s control Iran, the conflict won’t end. And Biden’s weak (supportive?) policy towards Iran is allowing an emboldened Iran to stir up trouble all over. Israel can survive mainly because it’s Arab neighbors can tolerate Israel’s existence and they definitely know what would happen to them if they tried their luck militarily. So co-existence will ultimately work IMO.

Israel’s nemesis is Iran. And some time down the road I expect they will be dealt with in some form or other.

I believe in the right to strike, the same as I believe the employer can stand down the same wankers too. No one way streets in industrial relations. Two weeks before Christmas, sorry you’re stood down, we’ll have to reduce conditions and pay. I loathe unions.

But I would suggest that the battle Israel faces is, ultimately, a battle the entire western world will face.

That is a battle that will be won by modernity, not by force of arms.

But no slacking, keep the Iron Sword of the West always ready.
There may well be outbreaks of madness still to be dealt with.

Given Jordan has a border with Israel, this mans opinion matters. ….Do you really think proximity to Israel makes people smarter?

No, his opinion matters because Jordan has a contiguous border with Israel, a larger population than Israel, and a history of attacking Israel.

The same can be said for Syria, Egypt and (apart from population size), Lebanon – *every*single*one* of Israel’s immediate neighbours has a muslim majority population and a history of going to war with it. Denying the reality of that analysis by labelling it ‘antisemetic’ aint going to change that.

A total of 3,852 wounded soldiers, according to Israeli hospital data,

This is useless.
How severe?
What type?

*every*single*one* of Israel’s immediate neighbours has a muslim majority population and a history of going to war with it.

And losing, Duk. Don’t forget that.

JC-

Yes, I don’t buy into the “nothing” being made. But it’s bloody hard.

For one good example, tKe a stroll through the insanity that is LIDP. It claims to promote local work, but it’s really just about creating a closed union construction shop.

Think about how it affects mixed manufacturing… and how on earth a new start could possibly comply.

There’s lots more, but LIDP seems a good example that should be easy to see straight through.

Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.

I agree, P. And I’m still waiting for that. That’s why I am an agnostic.

*every*single*one* of Israel’s immediate neighbours has a muslim majority population and a history of going to war with it.

Long past. These Arab countries are riven with internal calamities and with no USSR bankrolling or arming them have to rely on their own meager means to survive. That doesn’t include attacking Israel. Besides, it would be near impossible for all of them to agree simultaneously to anything approaching opening a new conflict. All these Arab regimes are focused on maintaining power internally, not entering a conflict with Israel..

… err, clinging to

You should go into politics Rosie.

I think one of the hardest things to learn about was parents writing the names of their children on the soles of their feet because they they figured that the next morning, that they may or may not be there, and they need to be identified.

If you put yourself in a place of a parent having to make that choice and recognising effectively that they have surrendered their ability to protect their child, that’s pretty tough. And I think a lot of parents can relate to that. And they don’t have to be Palestinian to do so.

Perhaps the parents could query why they have put their children in the line of fire by supporting Hamas for so long, tolerating tunnels and arms in schools and hospitals, and by not seeking shelter in time in clearly nominated safe places during this conflict. It is almost as though they are willing, expecting even, their children to be human shield fodder for Hamas propaganda, and heaven forfend, that they expect familial payment for it. Child sacrifice is not too far away from what Hamas demanded from the faithful via human shielding, and we have seen mothers promoting one or two of their many children to become martyrs.

I hope that payment isn’t what lies behind this foot labelling.

Long past. These Arab countries are riven with internal calamities ….. All these Arab regimes are focused on maintaining power internally, not entering a conflict with Israel..

Until a new regime comes to power as it so often does in the middle east – the Iranian revolution being an example – then things change – imagine the threat an Egypt run by the same ideology as Iran would pose for Israel.

The fundamental problem here is that Islam and Judaism have irreconcilable differences, and will be in conflict forever (albeit with periods of quiessence) over the same piece of land. Israel’s 7 million jews are opposed by hundreds of millions of muslims and have survived up to now with massive technological superiority and support from the west.

What has changed for Israel is:

1) The nature of its wars has shifted to asymmetric conflicts, which don’t require technological parity on the part of its muslim opponents.
2) The west itself is becoming less able to assist as a result of its decaying economy and increasing Islamification – the time is coming when Israel will no longer receive military and economic support from the west, then its game over.

Today’s Knickerless show has kicked off … Sharaz, one guesses, might end up under oath after all

What has changed for Israel is:

Israel can handle anything asymmetric it’s opponents throw at them, quite effectively I expect.

The west will withdraw support/access to the Arab nations long before it drops Israel. And I don’t see KSA bankrolling their beggar neighbors either.

This isn’t a Chick Tracts discussion forum.

ORLY?

Dun Dun DUUUUNNNN!!

Eat the damn bugs! Oh wait, that should be drive the damn EVs!

EV Push Worries Car Dealers Facing Disillusioned Buyers (11 Dec)

As inventories of electric cars grow faster than sales, car dealers are feeling increasingly discouraged by their prospects, according to a quarterly survey from Cox Automotive, the parent company of Kelley Blue Book. A dealer sentiment index derived from the survey shows sales expectations haven’t been lower since at least 2021, when Cox first started asking about EVs.
…
Electric vehicle sales are growing — a record of over 300,000 vehicles represented a 50% increase in the third quarter — but they still make up less than 8% of total car sales in the U.S., according to Cox.

I suspect the mismatch between the sales growth numbers and gloomy dealers is fleet sales – woke companies and the public sector are loading up on Gaia’s holy golf carts but the ordinary punters aren’t buying.

There’s going to be an almighty political smash up when the expectations of the elites finally hit the wall of public hostility.

No, his opinion matters because Jordan has a contiguous border with Israel, a larger population than Israel, and a history of attacking Israel.

Israel needs Jordan as a buffer, and Jordan needs Israel as protector. Twice Israel warned Syria off when they had troops ready to invade Jordan in about 1970 and 1980.

Jordan attacked Israel twice – in 1947 when their military was run by the British, and in 1967 when the king was forced to by Arab states against his own judgement. If Jordan didn’t attack in ’67 they would still hold Judea and Samaria.

You appear to hold stereotypical views about the region and the peoples, calling on “historical evidence” but ignorant of history of the region.

Some sad news for military SF readers.

Military Science Fiction Author David Drake, Passes Away at Age 78 (11 Dec, via Instapundit)

Drake was born on September 24, 1945. He studied at Duke Law School and was drafted into the army in 1970, where he was assigned to the 11th Cavalry Regiment (a.k.a. the Blackhorse), where he, via tank, spent the war in Vietnam and Cambodia. He finished law school after he returned and became Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Assistant Town Attorney. He turned to writing to help him grapple with his army experiences, and his first book, the short story collection Hammer’s Slammers came out in 1979.

He loved to adapt histories and mythological epics like the Kalevala into SF. Which sometimes worked well, and other times didn’t quite gel – like the adaptation of colonial Spanish history that had his characters building a spaceship out of wood. But even then the stories were a lot of fun. RIP, sir, and thanks for many hours of fie reading.

Angus Llewellyn (producer for The Project) has just admitted that he didn’t check or question the ONLY evidence of an attack on Hoggin’s, ie. that photo of a leg bruise, with no metadata, wrapped in extensive BS about the date of its origin and the cause of the bruise.

Even the judge had to satisfy himself of the monumental stupidity of what he just heard, before Chrysanthou objected and he withdrew the question (didn’t know that could happen in court..).

Angus acts as a swaggering, arrogant-ish cool guy.. freely arguing and questioning his cross-examiner, but he’s clearly just a simpleton who thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room.

Channel 10 executives may have just soiled their collective undies..

Areff, I didn’t see your piece re Elsie. I am not sure if Attapuss would like a friend (it might do him good though), and we will be absent for various periods of 5 weeks a time ourselves in 2024, calling in a cat sitter for those periods, but I will see what Hairy thinks and get back to you.

*five minutes*

Hairy has just said no, definitively no, that Attapuss is too territorial, too hopelessly jealous, and that Attapuss already ties us down enough, so we can’t accept responsibility for another cat whom he might attack or whom our current cat sitter (who is excellent) might not wish to have added to the load. Hairy was shaking his head from the moment I started asking. 🙁

… I’m sad because I’d like to help and Elsie looks totally adorable. Someone somewhere will take her, so keep asking around, and repeating the call here too.

Have you tried Sinclair? Or your sister? Or a long term kennel situation as a last resort? I will ask around with my friends for you too.

BTW, the difference with Hungary’s position and his was, afaik, Orban wasn’t campaiging to remove himself from the Paris Agreement, whereas Milei was.

Like discussed yesterday. What were the qualifiers? “Not yet”, “our Congress must agree to this”, etc?

Have you tried Sinclair? Or your sister? Or a long term kennel situation as a last resort? I will ask around with my friends for you too.

Thanks, Lizzie. Sinc has a dog and a busy house, which wouldn’t suit Elsie at all.

Long term cattery might be the only answer. It’s not the expense I object to — am offering to cover all feeding/vet costs to the tune of four figues — it’s that she’d feel she had been consigned to indefinite detention with no chance of High Court intervention.

I do think there is a case to be made for maintaining a sovereign manufacturing capacity, particularly in strategic industries. We need to be able to make at least some of the stuff that keeps us alive and deters potential aggressors.

The cost of not doing so is evident in the insane sticker price on the AUKUS subs. A nuclear submarine is arguably the most technically challenging vehicle to manufacture. Some may say a space shuttle-type craft is more so – mmm if they needed to be able to operate in a combat environment, I might be with you, but they don’t.

Anyway, these colossally complex boats are being built here at insane expense because you need to train the workforce from the ground up, many (most?) in extremely specialised branches of their respective trades. If there was an existing pool of labour working in related industries that could be drawn upon, it would be far cheaper to build these boats here. They would probably require upskilling and further specialist training to work on these fiendishly complex machines, but not nearly as much as when starting from scratch, as we are doing.

We even need to train the trainers who are going to be training this workforce, that’s how far behind the eight ball we are.

A cursory understanding of geography and the role of a submarine fleet in modern naval warfare mean SSNs are the obvious choice for Australia. It’s a pity we spent 50+ years dithering about this. We’re paying the price now for that.

On balance I’d say the price has become too high, in fact, and the capability gap whilst these boats enter service is dangerously large. We don’t have the luxury of *not* buying off-the-shelf designs manufactured overseas, in my view.

We are far too wedded to the US and its grotesquely distorted military industrial complex. This might be an anathema to some, but the Russians make damn good subs for a fraction of the cost of their US counterparts. Their missile technology, in just about every class and category you care to mention, also eclipses the West’s. The US still leads the world in submarine design, but in terms of the munitions these subs can deploy (especially stand-off range weapons), the US is a generation behind the Russians and the gap is widening.

We should be alarmed by this. We should also be alarmed by the US’s industrial limitations, which mean we’ll run out of stuff to fire at an adversary that threatens our shores fairly quickly. We’ll call up Raytheon and ask for them for more Tomahawks, or Boeing for some more Harpoons. Sure, they’ll say, send several billion our way and we’ll have them to you in a couple of years. Er no, we’ll say, money’s not such an issue but we kinda need them now-ish. No problem, they’ll say. It’ll be triple the price and we’ll have them to you in a year (but end up delivering them in 2 years anyway).

We ought to be seeking out a wide range of partners who have a demonstrated capacity to supply us with what we need, particularly in a time of crisis. The US has spent the last 2 years or so proving that it’s not up to this task.

Of all America’s imperial client states, Britain stands out both for the eager subservience of its foreign policy elites, and the taboo against imagining that things could be otherwise. But why?

There’s been an Anschluss between the US and UK deep states. That’s at least part of the explanation. And these people don’t view the world in terms of their national interests.

You want to see what’s wrong with journalism, tune into the Knickerless Show.

The ‘rape’ story was too good not to be true, so not even the most perfunctory investigation of key evidence and its provenance was never done.

The 11-day bruise!

Mrs Pirate up this afternoon, I believe.

Wouldn’t be surprised if 10 settles tonight.

Just reading backthread and see you have put up the full text from Quadrant of Salvador Balbones resuscitation of the Marlow was Shakespeare argument at 11.18

Old Ozzie at it again, cited approvingly by dumb Lizzie.

Instead of encouraging people to go to Quadrant, this egomaniac posted the whole article, thereby depriving Quadrant of traffic and people potentially reading other stuff while they are there.

I am trying to ignore the me!me!me! element which cropped up as usual in dumb Lizzie’s comment, which I didn’t reproduce.. Just surprised she didn’t mention her latest tete a tete with the editor, for once.

I will say it again – scaling paywalls is admirable, but foisting your daily reading in huge slabs of text from sites that are accessible is not.

Apart from anything else, it deprives those sites of visitors, which you could promote with a bit of Netiquette.

Cease and desist, sir. You are the digital equivalent of the Club Bore.

Did I post here that Beryllium-10 was recently observed by Japanese physicists to have a nucleus that looks like a covalently bonded molecule?

The nuclear spin must play a role.

It split into two He-4 nuclei with the other two neutrons rotating around the apparent bond axis of the to alpha particles.

So what does this mean for quark exchange and the oil drop model!?

Maaaaaates….

Senator Penny Wong
@SenatorWong
Australia is proud to endorse
@NStottDespoja
for re-election to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

Her continued service will strengthen our advocacy for women and girls’ human rights and further our work to achieve gender equality globally.

If they’re hospitalized and need rehab we are talking about injuries of some significant severity, usually permanent disability, typically blindness, amputations, and the like.

Sure that’s why I’m saying the total number is useless.

Anyway, more to do than be here now. We have ‘a man’ coming to do a smoothing repair job on the Sporty Beamer’s side, where Hairy had an argument with a supermarket painted car park post. 🙂

Areff, didn’t Diogenes offer to look after your cat?

I’d do it, but there are already three cats here (not mine) that can’t stand each other. 🙂

For shame

I copied this off of Medium

Toyota CEO: “Our Ammonia Engine Is the End of EV’s”

Toyota’s Ammonia Engine: A Potential Game-Changer in the World of Green Mobility

The Pareto Investor
The Pareto Investor
·
Follow
4 min read
·
Oct 15

In a world that seems inexorably drawn towards an all-electric future, Toyota has consistently taken a different road. The Japanese automaker remains skeptical about an exclusive reliance on electric vehicles (EVs). While it’s true that Toyota has some exciting EVs in the pipeline for the upcoming year, they are also actively exploring alternative energy sources. However, a recent development could potentially turn the tables on the EV revolution — an ammonia-powered engine for passenger vehicles.

An ammonia engine is a type of internal combustion engine that uses ammonia as its primary fuel source. What makes ammonia unique is its composition, consisting of one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms. The absence of carbon atoms in ammonia translates to the absence of carbon dioxide emissions during combustion. This distinct characteristic is why ammonia engines are viewed as a promising solution to combat pollution.

Yeah I dunno. Ammonia and diethyl ether are seen as replacements to petrol and diesel, particularly with nuclear powered liquid fuel synthesis.

Ammonia is a noxious gas, even cloudy ammonia is bad enough in most laundries.

Diethyl ether is dangerous stuff. It’s heavier than air so it acts like a gas and a liquid, making it a a very dangerous fuel for fires – it seeks low points and so maximises damages.

The point is, lithium has competition.

Flying duk:

The latest series of photos of naked Palestinian men cowering before Israeli soldiers will only add to this.

Israels sheer existence is enough to set the Mohammedans into a frothing, feverish frenzy.
Let them do their lolly over shirtless fatsos, maybe their sub70 IQ’s will finally wake up to reality.
Perhaps we can breed an intelligent Arab, by letting the stupider ones kill themselves off.
Yeah, and maybe the horse will learn to sing.

Dover

Re the Samson Option, the more potentially dangerous Arab governments will be well aware of the possibility, and they will therefore work to ensure that it (an updated MAD) never becomes necessary.

That leaves a continuing low level of activity, which will not be allowed to get out of hand. Hamarse, IJ, ISIS, the PLO et al will not be allowed to become an existential threat to Israel.

The nuclear spin must play a role.

Let me explain. A neutron has zero electric charge…

Neutrons have a magnetic moment (that’s how some nuclear magnetic resonance imaging works). They also have “half spin” and are able to be electrically and magnetically polarisable and finally they have an electric dipole moment.

The problem with this is its already over if Israel needs to use nuclear weapons. The use of nuclear weapons would indicate it has lost conventionally and they’ve concluded they have only this final means left to harm the enemy.

So that’s why the US dropped the bombs in Japan? They had lost conventionally?

It’s certainly an unconventional take.