Thursday Open Thread

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95 comments to Thursday Open Thread

  • #
    David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

    I’ve discovered a new force which explains why international travellers are blinded from seeing sea level changes due to global warming, as they take off from some airports.
    It acts around international airports located at or near sea level and moves excess water away into the nearby oceans.
    People flying out of Sydney are mislead by this effect as it appears there has been no seal level rise there since I first flew from there in 1968. A similar effect is observable still in Honolulu, Tahiti, and Hong Kong. Somehow it also works within both Sydney and Newcastle harbours as some people still claim that Fort Denison is not drowning.
    The exact mechanism of this force is yet to be defined, but does appear to be operating world wide, and may even be observable on internal flights.
    Please send money to assist my research.
    Cheers
    Dave B

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    • #
      Gee Aye

      Can I pay in bitcoin?

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      70 yrs ago I lived in a suburb where the spring tides rose into the gutter in front of my house. Still does, but no higher. No one is selling out to avoid inundation. You still need to offer top dollar to live in the sandfly infested area.

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      • #
        Graham Richards

        I’m sure the moron that identifies as energy minister would pay anything if you prove we’re all going to drown!

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      yarpos

      Also allows the governments of the Seychelles and Maldives to spend billions building close to sea level airports due to long term demand on one hand but still have their hands out for we are sinking (allegedly) money

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    • #
      James Murphy

      This sounds like incredible research, perhaps if you are lucky it will be peer reviewed and published in Nature!
      No donations from me because I own a Tesla so I am already doing my part for climate change, but I will get all my friends to donate money by making them feel guilty about the plight of Polar Bears in Tahiti.
      Without your vital research, who knows what will happen to future generations!

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      • #
        David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

        Thanks James.
        I believe there’ve been hints that some of Jo’s followers have flown to potentially affected airports, or be about to. May I request that they look out the window on take off and landing and report on the runway status please?
        I will follow Einstein and feel I must reject my theory if anyone were to reliably report of an ocean, or even a sea, covering their runway on at least two occasions.
        But please don’t nominate Denver, or Katmandu, as they are rumoured to be above any sea level rise this century.

        Cheers
        Dave B

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        • #
          James Murphy

          But please don’t nominate Denver, or Katmandu, as they are rumoured to be above any sea level rise this century

          Climate change accelerates erosion rates. Within our lifetimes, children from Denver and Katmandu may find themselves inundated by the ocean*. It’s a climate catastrophe you know!
          .
          .
          *if they ever go swimming in the ocean.

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          • #
            another ian

            James

            There is such a project much closer.

            The very productive mitchell grass country was the bottom of the last inland sea where the silcrete cap has eroded.

            The mulga region overlies that same strata but has not been eroded sufficiently to expose it.

            So speeding up that erosion would result in a large area of more productive grassland, with a bonus return from the opal that was exposed on the way.

            And I’m not angling for a spotter’s fee.

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      • #
        Skeptocynic

        I own a Tesla so I am already doing my part for climate change

        You own a coal-burner.

        30

    • #
      John B

      It is remarkable that all those old tidal pools around Sydney Harbour and coastline (some built over 100 years ago) have not disappeared under the sea. Another thing to ponder is how high were the sea levels that formed those rock platforms along the south eastern coast of Australia?

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      • #
        James Murphy

        The rocks are older than the sea-level changes, but the wave-cut platform area was more or less an inter-tidal zone for a long enough period that a platform was cut.

        However, various geologic events have moved things around, and eastern Australian geologic events (uplift / orogenic events, subsidence, etc) are not homogeneous, so, just because a wave cut platform is now 50m above sea level, that doesn’t instantly mean sea level was 50m higher than now. More evidence would be needed to understand how the land shifted as well as how the sea level changed.

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      • #
        Ian George

        Fort Denison records for the past 100 years shows little change.
        http://www.bom.gov.au/ntc/IDO70000/IDO70000_60370_SLD.shtml

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        • #
          Ted1.

          Here it is at noaa.

          https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?id=680-140

          In the second half of the noughties I started drawing attention to this chart which showed a remarkably steady rise of 0.65 mm a year, two and a half inches a century.

          Then in 2010 they terminated that chart. For no reason that I could see.

          Over the next ten years I saw several attempts to resume that chart, which were soon abandoned. Those attempts looked to me that they were trying to build the Hockey Stick into the chart without being caught out. Eventually they settled for this.

          Along the way I found a new Australian government website where they said that the tide gauge is “recalibrated monthly”.

          Greatly alarmed by this, I immediately drew several people’s attention to it, but I don’t remember who. I couldn’t find it later, but have seen that the gauge is “calibrated” monthly.

          With modern literacy standards they probably don’t know the difference.

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    • #
      John Connor II

      Please send money to assist my research.
      Cheers
      Dave B

      Will do. Can I pay in Albanian Lek?
      Do you take Paypal, ‘cos no-one else does? 😆

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      • #
        David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

        Thanks J C II, but the exchange rate is not up to Claud’s standards, so I’ll have to decline your generous offer.
        Cheers
        Dave B

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    • #
      MrGrimNasty

      The UK Daily Mail has been publishing a load of centralised propaganda issued climate junk to bolster COP27, yesterday 0.5″ of sea level rise by the end of the century from Greenland meting faster than ever was supposed to be scary!
      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11407741/Melting-Greenland-ice-sheet-cause-sea-levels-rise-0-5-INCHES-end-century.html

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  • #
    Adellad

    The stall in counting in Arizona’s Maricopa County (ie: Phoenix and about 60% of the state’s population) is depressingly familiar. Lake is a tiny fraction behind and the great majority of the uncounted votes are those cast on polling day. As such, they would normally strongly favour Republicans. The electoral staff know that; there is another smelly rat on the horizon. Of course Their ABC spins the party line – there are a LOT of votes to be counted. Yeah sure, Florida with 3 times the population of Arizona did all its counting on the day.
    Lake frightens the ruling elite. She will be stopped.

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    • #

      Florida like Oregon and Washington State has postal voting long bedded in, they’re counted by polling day.

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    • #
      James Murphy

      Funny how entire countries like the UK, Australia, and many more, manage to have the vast majority of votes counted on the same day, or the day after polling closes.

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    • #
      Leo G

      … and the great majority of the uncounted votes are those cast on polling day. As such, they would normally strongly favour Republicans.

      The tabulation problems on Election Day in Arizona affected precincts which used precinct tabulation (as opposed to central tabulation)- which would also be precincts more likely to vote Republican.
      For voters in precinct tabulation counties, the voter ballot is run through the tabulation machine at the voting location in the presence of the voter. The vote counts to a removable media device located inside the tabulator. The ballot is retained separately as a verification check against the electronically recorded count.
      The tabulation failure meant that the ballots had to be stored and physically transferred to a central counting location to be tabulated, and that transfer was an irregularity affecting the security of the ballots.
      The situation invites suspicions of a deliberately planned failure to facilitate an election fraud.

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      • #
        Klem

        Hopefully they will safely store the ballots in suitcases hidden under their desks, to be pulled out and run through the machines after everyone has gone home.

        Wouldn’t want to undermine the confidence people have in the voting process.

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  • #
    Lank

    As a comment on methane production from cattle, sheep and other ruminants – I always laugh at the ignorance of schemes to reduce numbers of livestock in order to lower methane emissions.

    It is not the animal producing methane but the microbes (mostly bacteria) in the beast’s gut. Unlike humans, ruminants rely on microbes to digest cellulose, an anaerobic process which produces methane as well as other gases and compounds. However, many are not aware that these same microbes, or similar, will also break down the cellulose outside of the animal’s stomach.

    If the animal was not to have eaten the grass in the first instance the grass would still be broken down in the soil and produce the same amount of methane.

    Perhaps the only saving grace is that the process is likely to be accelerated in the warm dark, oxygen-free environment of a stomach.

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    • #
      Lank

      The same argument applies to termites – the microbes in the termite gut produces methane not the insect itself. Reducing termite numbers does not reduce the methane produced from decomposing vegetation.

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      • #
        Gee Aye

        There are also aerobic processes that produce less methane (aerobic methane:CO2 is 1:3 and anaerobic 1:1) plus hydrolysis produces breakdown products that can be metabolised to produce less than the 1:1.

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    • #
      Tarquin+Wombat-Carruthers

      I was listening to Peta Credlin a few minutes ago. She was discussing with David Littleproud about the financial institutions that are leaning towards denial of services to farmers who don’t have an acceptable methane reduction plan. If implemented, long-term, this will raise meat prices, thus reducing the numbers and frequency of barbecues. Realistically, I doubt that many Australians will willingly forego the opportunity for an occasional, if not frequent, barbecue – it’s an Australian tradition, and a major part of our culture. But I would be willing to bet that there are more than a few bank managers who (shock! horror!) also indulge in barbecuing! Therefore, I propose that those of us who enjoy barbecues (I suspect a sizeable majority of the population) advise our bank managers that, should they threaten to deny farmers the finances to maintain/improve their businesses, that our accounts will be transferred to alternative providers. This might lead to the formation of, for example, The Barbecue Bank, a revolutionary new lender, dedicated to the support of thousands of farmers and the millions of barbecue aficionados who rely on their produce! Let’s nip this methane reduction nonsense in the bud (or should that be butt)!

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    • #

      My calculation some years back, using HITRAN data for the methane spectrum, gave more of the radiation incoming from the Sun being absorbed by atmospheric methane than that for radiation outgoing from the Earth’s surface. That means that the methane is cooling the Earth’s surface as less of the Sun’s radiation reaches that surface.
      Furthermore, as all so-called Greenhouse gases radiate in all directions, more than half of the energy adsorbed must be re-emitted out into space and be lost to the Earth’s energy budget, again cooling the Earth/Atmosphere. The radiation headed towards the Earth’s surface does not raise the energy budget as claimed by the UN IPCC as it is already part of the energy having arrived mainly from the Sun.
      Note that none of the Greenhouse gases generate energy of their own accord so they do not heat anything. They merely take part in the interaction between kinetic, potential and radiative energy driven by the heat emitted by the incoming Sun and outgoing Earth’s surface radiation.
      There is no Greenhouse gas warming of the Earth.

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      • #
        Leo G

        Furthermore, as all so-called Greenhouse gases radiate in all directions, more than half of the energy adsorbed must be re-emitted out into space and be lost to the Earth’s energy budget, …

        So-called Greenhouse gases merely change the directional dispersion of parts of terrestrial infrared emissions and increase the extent to which the energy in radiation of those bands is absorbed by other materials and reradiated to space in radiation at other wavelengths.

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      • #
        PADRE

        Bevan, Your mention of HITRAN reminds me of an excellent paper by Dr David Coe which was reported in Wattsupwiththat. I can’t give you the direct reference but a search for David Coe on Wattsupwiththat will soon direct you to it. In it he shows how water vapour is the dominant greenhouse effect. CO2 plays a very minor part and Methane and Nitrous oxide are virtually negligible.

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  • #
    Chris

    A deceased Democrat won re- election . Tony De Luca was the longest serving member of Pen state House of Reps. He died last month at age 85. His name was left on the ballot. The deceitfulness and ingenuity of the Democrats is breathtaking.

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    • #
      Stanley

      My son is really mad at his grandfather. A republican voter all his life until his death, now he votes for the Democrats. Eternally.

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    • #
      James Murphy

      Dead people voting for dead people, sounds like democracy to me…

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    • #
      John B

      He probably voted, as well.

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    • #
      Leo G

      Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported:

      “While we’re incredibly saddened by the loss of Representative Tony DeLuca, we are proud to see the voters to continue to show their confidence in him and his commitment to Democratic values by re-electing him.”

      US Democrat voters apparently believe that the closer a representative is to brain death, the better the representation.

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      • #
        James Murphy

        I guess one could argue that the most useful contribution that politicians make is that of pushing up daisies.
        (not promoting unnatural causes of death for anyone…)

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  • #
  • #
    Tricky Dicky

    As methane is such a problem, we need to cut down all the trees. When plants produce the amino acid methionine, the by product is methane. Some trees have roots that grow down in to the anaerobic layer of the soil and then act like chimneys to move methane out of the soil in to the air. Some trees produce so much methane you can drive a hollow spike in to the trunk and set fire the methane that comes off. Trees are destroying the climate.

    20

  • #
    RickWill

    Meta has a faceplant. Zuckerberg has to “let go” 11,000 staff.
    https://torontosun.com/news/world/mark-zuckerberg-says-sorry-to-meta-staff-for-sacking-11000-of-them

    The Facebook founder, 38, had told hundreds of executives in a call on Tuesday cuts of around 13% of the company’s workforce were to be announced due to soaring running costs and a declining advertising market.

    Musk has cut a few thousand staff from Twitter.

    Alphabet is not “letting go” of any staff just yet but has slowed recruitment.

    It is getting tougher to make a buck in the US if you are not supplying energy. Biden needs to get stuck into the energy industry and tax the bjs out of it so he puts a stop to their profiteering. It seems that cutting access to new resources makes the old resources a lot more profitable as those needing energy pay much higher prices – oh the unintended consequences.

    What price is Al Gore prepared to pay to fuel his jet to get to COP27; no limit man! He needs to be there to tell all the good soles to choose life over death by renouncing carbon – not the privileged delegates of course but the people they govern.

    The IPCC and its hangers on are a stain on humanity. I keep wondering if I will live long enough to see the scam exposed in all its ugliness.

    Meanwhile, in the manufacturing centre, the benchmark contract price for coal will remain at CNY700/t for 2023. Well below the current spot price in the international market. I guess China is choosing death over life so the rest of the world can choose life over death – we will see how that turns out in Europe in about two months.

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    • #
      b.nice

      “What price is Al Gore prepared to pay to fuel his jet to get to COP27; no limit man!”

      But he will be able to “offset” it against some mythical green project in some far-off third-world dictator’s back pocket. !

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  • #
    John Connor II

    Thursday entertainment: A sociopath goes for a job interview

    https://youtu.be/nTIfU4zMQWY

    Oh so relevant today…

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  • #
    John Connor II

    Hypocritical Globalists Eat Gourmet Meat While Pushing A Diet Of Bugs On The Rest Of Us

    The Globalist elites who’ve been jetting into Egypt for the Cop27 climate conference will be dining out in style while urging the rest of us to cut down on meat consumption to save the planet.

    Hypocritical world leaders and delegates will have the choice of a gourmet selection of meats, fish, and dairy at the United Nations COP27 climate change meeting as they push supposedly more sustainable foods like bugs.

    Beef medallion with mushrooms sauce, chicken breast with orange gravy, and salmon with creamy sauce and chives are some of the menu options that world leaders, diplomats, bureaucrats, and industry bigwigs will be chomping down on at the COP27 meeting.

    The COP Gourmet service also offers an hour and a half of bottomless cocktails for £110 ($125). Attendees are also offered delivery service for items such as paper cups, plastic water bottles and wooden coffee stirrers.

    The menu flies in the face of the stated goals of the United Nations, with a 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report saying: “Meat analogues such as imitation meat (from plant products), cultured meat, and insects may help in the transition to more healthy and sustainable diets.”[snip]

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/11/09/cop27-hypocrisy-globalists-munch-down-on-meat-as-they-push-bug-diet-for-the-proles/

    “For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.”
    “Hypocrites are those who apply to others the standards that they refuse to accept for themselves.”
    – Noam Chomsky

    Let THEM eat bugs!

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  • #
    John Connor II

    A biological male won “Miss Greater Derry” which is a beauty pageant in New Hampshire under the “Miss America” organisation

    https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1590377686358450177

    But it’s a “Greater Miss Derry” how he she won…

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    • #
      Earl

      I believe the final was held in the town of Dis. It is a beautiful spot, perched on a hill. As you drive up the road the town Dis appears.

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  • #
    el+gordo

    A fight is on to stop foreign vandals destroying our landscape.

    ‘Don’t let a foreign-owned company risk the lives of our precious wildlife and rural communities, by cutting corners and destroying 2500 hectares of precious land to cater for dangerous, old tower technology to deliver the HumeLink transmission project.

    ‘Transgrid’s HumeLink proposal is to cut an ugly 360km long, 70-metre-wide scar consisting of towers as tall as the Harbour Bridge pylons through old growth forests, state forests and working farms, from Wagga Wagga and Kosciusko National Park to the edge of the beautiful Southern Highlands.’ (UK Mail)

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    • #
      KP

      So.. how were they going to spend those billions improving the transmission network for the Green distributed generation again?? Put it all underground where it doesn’t risk the wildlife?? Get some unicorns in?

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  • #

    What price is Al Gore prepared to pay to fuel his jet to get to COP27; no limit man! He needs to be there to tell all the good soles to choose life over death by renouncing carbon – not the privileged delegates of course but the people they govern.

    Lol. They are not good soles (souls is the correct word). The are r soles…………………….

    40

    • #
      Honk R Smith

      ‘choose life by renouncing carbon’
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_chemistry

      I, for one, believe in Science.
      As an American I also believe a vote against the Democratic Party is a vote against ‘Our Democracy’.
      And sometime boy soles accidently get implanted in girl bodies.
      Inclusive Medical Science can fix that.
      Intolerance can not be tolerated.
      So, I refuse tolerate intolerance and carbon.
      And witches burn because they are made of wood.*

      *(MAGA Republicans are made of wood.)

      10

  • #
    John Connor II

    Americans overestimate the size of minority groups and underestimate the size of most majority groups

    One of the puzzling things about the left’s enthusiastic embrace of the outright socio-cultural destruction of America has been why so many ordinary people go along with their intentionally divisive, radical socio-cultural agenda, either by shrugging and moving away from it (insulating themselves and their families in various ways), by seeing it and seething in silence, or by actually jumping on the handcart to leftist Hades.

    YouGov has done some digging and has come up with part of the answer. The left’s constant haranguing on identity politics and their constant elevation of the loud tiny minorities they claim to “represent” has arguably skewed Americans’ impressions of the actual size of demographic groups. Obviously, this is done on purpose, with the help of the infotainment media and Big Tech speech and thought gatekeepers, and it’s been effective.

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/03/yougov-amercians-tend-to-vastly-overestimate-the-size-of-minority-groups/

    Interesting graphs.
    The “trans” squad is only 1% and not 21%. 😆😆

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    • #
      KP

      Media does it.. Advertisements no longer show the dominant population, or even anything representative of the society at all. They show what they want you to believe, so its all non-white queer people doing weird things.

      Still, anyone who believes it is on the wrong side of the IQ curve anyway..

      10

  • #
    John Connor II

    Medibank hackers are now releasing stolen data on the dark web. If you’re affected, here’s what you need to know

    Here’s what the hacker group divulged in the first batch of leaked data:

    screenshots of failed negotiations with Medibank

    a list of Medibank employees, with their full names, work emails, details of the mobile phones and computers they use, as well as some home wifi names (which can be used to find a person’s home address)

    the personally identifiable information (including what appear to be passport numbers) of more than 500,000 international students, either currently or formerly in Australia

    the personally identifiable information (including what appear to be ID document numbers) of an additional 500,000 people

    and the personal information (including addresses and phone numbers) of 200 people. Most concerningly, this includes details of medical diagnoses and procedures, and a “naughty list” of 100 people singled-out for having medical diagnoses of psychological disorders and drug addiction.

    On the following day, November 10, the hackers released an additional 300 records of personally identifying information on account holders who had abortions charged against their accounts.

    How might criminals use the stolen data?
    Blackmail, fraud, identity theft and targeted scams are the three most obvious options for the hackers now in possession of Medibank customers’ data.

    Personal information and information about medical treatments considered “controversial” – such as treatments related to sexual health, mental health, and addiction – could be used to blackmail victims, including high profile people and foreign nationals.

    Foreign nationals may be particularly vulnerable if they have undergone procedures considered socially unacceptable – or even illegal – in their home country. This could even make it dangerous for them to return.

    Personally identifying information, such as ID documents and contact details, may be used to impersonate victims and seize financial accounts, open lines of credit, or impersonate a victim to extort their friends and family for money.

    Personal information can also be used to carry out targeted scams. For instance, cybercriminals may target data breach victims with highly personalised – and therefore highly believable – phishing attacks.

    There are also data recovery scams, in which scammers contact victims and make the impossible claim to remove their data from the internet for a fee.

    https://theconversation.com/medibank-hackers-are-now-releasing-stolen-data-on-the-dark-web-if-youre-affected-heres-what-you-need-to-know-194340

    It will be interesting to see what forms of remediation will be made available to those affected…

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    • #
      John Connor II

      Optus hack to cost at least $140 million

      Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has moved to defuse any lingering tensions with the Albanese government by praising its response to the Medibank cyberattack, as she revealed the carrier’s own data breach will cost it at least $140 million.

      The Singapore owned telco was heavily criticised by senior government figures in September after hackers obtained the data of 10 million of its customers.

      The incident has already cost Optus 10,000 customers. The company has set aside $140 million for cybercrime related costs, including replacing hacked identity documents, complimentary subscriptions to credit monitor Equifax and an independent report commissioned by Deloitte. It also plans to invest more in enhancing the company’s cyber capabilities and rebuild trust.

      “That’s our best estimate of the totality of costs that we can foresee at the moment. As the situation evolves, will continue to reassess,” she said.“It’s worth noting that there are a couple of regulatory reviews…we expect that they will fairly assess the totality of our substantial investment in cyber, so we’re not expecting anything to come out of those, but of course, it could and those cannot be provided for.”

      https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/optus-puts-aside-140m-to-replace-customers-hacked-identity-documents-20221110-p5bx4g.html

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      • #
        John Connor II

        There’s a major story developing but I’ll wait a bit to see how bad it is before detailing…
        😉

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    • #
      John Connor II

      Medibank continued

      Late last month, Medibank said it caught the precursors to a ransomware attack and thought no data had been accessed. It seemed to be positive story, but shortly afterwards Medibank told the public that the attackers had in fact stolen data and reached out wanting to negotiate.

      How did the attackers get the stolen access credentials? I recently spoke with a former Medibank employee whose login credentials turned up on the Dark Web in August, and an interesting conversation ensued.

      For background, login credentials are constantly stolen, bought and sold. “Every org has creds for sale,” one source tells me. Medibank is no different. At least a half dozen Medibank accounts were available for sale in August, according to the Los Angeles-based cybersecurity intelligence company Resecurity .

      I looked at the credentials and emailed some of the people. One responded, and we spoke on the phone. He was a part-time Covid support officer with Medibank. Policyholders would call in with Covid questions, and he said he would read Covid guidance from NSW’s website.

      His Medibank email address and password were for sale along with the URL where those credentials were valid. His data was harvested by the Redline botnet malware, which had apparently infected one of his devices.

      However, he says he’s in disbelief of that as he uses four AV programs and is careful about potentially malicious links. His ANZ bank account ended up locked after hackers went after it, too, in August but he didn’t lose money.

      He worked from home and would log into Medibank’s systems with his email address and password. Then he’d enter a one-time passcode from the Symantec VIP code generator on his phone. Once in, he had access to Medibank’s Patient Flow Portal.

      He could see names, addresses, what local health district a person lives in and sometimes disease information relevant to Covid. But he says there was a “limit” to what patient information he could access.

      He left Medibank in May, so if Medibank followed good IT security practices, his login credentials should have been revoked then. It’s great Medibank had two-factor authentication in place, but there are various tricks to get around it.

      Did this person’s account compromise lead to where Medibank is now? Probably not, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility, either. Medibank’s incident response and forensics investigation may figure out where all of this started and whether it was this account or a different one.

      But rather than try to speculate on patient zero, this tale is intended to show the possible malicious path via stolen creds. Malware on work-from-home computer > Harvested login credentials > Access to corporate network > More devious things, depending on what security controls are in place. And then eventually, perhaps, the worst data breach in Australian history.

      https://www.databreachtoday.co.uk/blogs/australia-faces-consequences-standing-up-to-ransomware-p-3312

      4 AV programs?!

      😆😉

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  • #
    william x

    Green energy effect on Australian National Parks and State forests;

    Who would have thought?

    For others outside Australia that read this post:

    A heads up.

    No one* is allowed in an Australian National Park to cut down a tree or remove a few sticks and branches to take home to burn.
    No one is allowed to decrease fuel load levels along their property boundary with State Forests or National Parks.

    *Traditional owners are excepted.

    Legislation is in place that it is an offence to do so.. An offence will be prosecuted with fines and/or a custodial sentence can be imposed.
    Laws are in place to ensure that we cannot damage our pristine National Parks & State Forests.

    Ok that is the law…. It is what it is.

    Yet a renewable project gets clearance to do otherwise.

    Snowy Hydro limited (Snowy 2.0)…. Are to take out and clear 140 hectares of the Kosciusko National Park and Bago State forest for transmission lines.

    Here is a link to the Australian Governments’ Senate estimates hearing conducted 7th November 2022. (PDF format)

    https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/estimate/26249/toc_pdf/Environment%20and%20Communications%20Legislation%20Committee_2022_11_07.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22committees/estimate/26249/0000%22

    Note that the Quotes below are from page 33 in the hansard PDF. Page 31 hansard document.

    (Mr Whitby is the acting CEO, Snowy Hydro limited)

    Quote:
    Senator RICE: Great. Thank you very much. My last question is about the proposed transmission lines through the Kosciuszko National Park to be connecting Snowy 2.0.
    The EIS proposes four 330 kilovolt overhead lines and two sets of massive steel lattice towers up to 75 metres tall traversing eight kilometres apart with a
    cleared swathe of up to 200 metres wide, with 140 hectares of the park and the Bago State Forest permanently
    cleared.
    The towers and lines will be visible over an astonishing 300 square (kilo)metres. Is that an accurate
    representation of what is proposed for the transmission lines?

    Mr Whitby: Off the top of my head, yes.

    End Quote.

    Ok.

    It seems green storage is more important than the pristine, legislatedly protected, green trees in our national parks and state forests.

    Imagine If a fossil fuel company tried the same.

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  • #
    Catherine

    Personal carbon allowances revisited | Nature Sustainability

    Published: 16 August 2021
    Personal carbon allowances revisited
    In particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on individuals for the sake of public health, and forms of individual accountability and responsibility that were unthinkable only one year before, have been adopted by millions of people. People may be more prepared to accept the tracking and limitations related to PCAs to achieve a safer climate and the many other benefits (for example, reduced air pollution and improved public health) associated with addressing the climate crisis.
    Other lessons that could be drawn relate to the public acceptance in some countries of additional surveillance and control in exchange for greater safety. For instance, in many countries, mobile apps designed for COVID-19 infection tracking and tracing played an important part in limiting the spread of the pandemic.
    The deployment and testing of such apps provide technology advances and insights for the design of future apps for tracking personal emissions.’

    The Netherlands,
    ‘Criticism of economist Barbara Baarsma for plan personal CO2 budget: ‘Very derogatory’ ‘, August 2022

    Rabobank economist Barbara Baarsma pleaded yesterday in a radio broadcast for a personal CO2 budget. However, there is criticism of this, because according to some people it promotes inequality. She suggests the idea that people with a larger wallet can buy ‘CO2 rights’ from people with less to spend.

    Let those paupers sell me their CO2 rights so that I can fly and live big”, one journalist describes Baarsma’s plan.
    According to someone else, the plan ensures more economic equality. “But of course you don’t understand that.”

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    Memoryvault

    Interesting trivia factoid.

    Cats have 32 muscles in each ear which allows them to turn their ears independently through 180 degrees. This means no matter how a cat is sitting it can turn its ears away and pretend it can’t hear you when you tell it do something.

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    David Maddison

    (Australia) What do you think about the real rate of inflation as opposed to the official one based on a standard basket of goods which is prone to manipulation?

    Judging from my experience buying things such as Bunnings (hardware), tradesman services, bakery, mechanic, EBay purchases, AliExpress purchases, general shopping at supermarket, restaurant meals, bottles of Pepsi Max, toilet paper etc. I think the real inflation rate is closer to 20%, maybe more, rather than the official rate of “only” 7.3%.

    What do you think?

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      Memoryvault

      Not everybody needs to shop regularly at Bunnings, but we all need weekly groceries. Prices on staples at Colesworth have gone up 30 to 60% in the past twelve months. Half of that has been since May.

      This is hardly surprising. The grubbymint’s insane money printing has seen the value of the AUD $ drop from 78 cents USD a year ago to 72 cents USD in May, to 64 cents USD now – and still falling.

      Christmas shopping is going to be very expensive, and next year is going to be even worse.

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      another ian

      Other calculations seem to use a ball park about 3X official so you’re probably about on the mark.

      And heed ye this –

      I was overseas in US in those heady days of Whitlam and the best conversion rate I got was

      $A1.00 = $US 1.49

      I said at the time that though it was cutting my living expenses at the time I’d be probably paying for it for the rest of my life

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      John Connor II

      Times are getting tougher.
      I now have to choose between Bollinger or Dom Perignon for xmas, rather than both.😉

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    David Maddison

    US conservative Matt Walsh talks about the Midterms.

    https://youtu.be/tyOZspQ7EXU

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    Honk R Smith

    Yesterday I renewed my Driver’s License.
    In my totally Democratically controlled State.
    Had to show proof of identity even though my DL has been my primary proof of ID in this State for 30 years.
    I was literally asked only one question.
    “Are you still a Democrat?”.
    Said yes.
    Because you only to get to vote in Democrat primaries if you are registered Democrat.
    There are very few, usually zero, republican candidates.
    But there’s not much point.
    Not sure there’s much point of the DL either.

    Boll Weevil told the farmer
    You better treat me right
    I’ll eat up all your cotton
    Sleep in your granary tonight

    Boll Weevil* told the farmer
    You don’t need no Ford machine
    Gonna eat up all your cotton
    Can’t buy no gasoline

    Ah, what’s old is new again.

    *(I think John Kerry might be a Boll Weevil, David Icke might be on to something. Maybe that Schwab guy too. Bono definitely.)

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      Honk R Smith

      It is important and proper that humor, sarcasm, historical cultural references, particularly to the Great Depression, be carefully monitored and ‘moderated’ where necessary.
      Otherwise people might think this Depression is not the truly great one.
      Also, we don’t want people to be fooled into thinking Bono might be an insect.
      He is not.
      I apologize.

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      Honk R Smith

      However, I should also note that Bono, Kerry, and Schwab are most certainly no longer carbon based life forms.
      They are demonstrating leadership by renouncing carbon.
      John Kerry has declared that once we get to Net Zero, then we can begin to to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
      This along with a plant based diet will insure the survival of Humanity.
      Al three are true Heroes and close adherents to Science.
      Hallowed be Its’ Name.

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    John Connor II

    Labour Vows To Introduce Mandatory ID Cards in Britain

    Britain’s Labour Party has vowed to introduce mandatory ID cards in the UK if they win the next general election.

    Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock announced that Labour will require every resident to register their details in a central, government-controlled database.

    Labour’s attempt to introduce ID cards 20 years ago, under the leadership of Tony Blair, was thwarted due to widespread disapproval of the Orwellian move. Legislation for mandatory ID cards was passed in 2006 but in 2009 the then home secretary, Alan Johnson, announced they would not be compulsory for UK citizens.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/08/labour-revives-id-cards-idea-reduce-irregular-immigration-stephen-kinnock

    Would hacking groups please note that this will be an easy hit goldmine.

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      KP

      “Would hacking groups please note that this will be an easy hit goldmine.”

      Second only to a Govt database of internet users who had to sign up for a ‘licence’ to use the net.. Because of ‘safety’.

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    John Connor II

    Volkswagen builds motorized office chair with headlights and horn

    Looking to branch out from utility vehicles, Volkswagen has tried its hand at designing transport for another kind of worker – those stuck behind a desk. VW’s new high-tech office chair comes complete with an electric motor, headlights, horn, an entertainment system, and even a trailer hitch.

    With tongue firmly planted in cheek, VW’s engineers explained the challenge of bringing as many features from their work vans into an office chair as they could. First and foremost, this thing actually drives around, courtesy of an electric motor and some foot pedals. With a 12-km (7.5-mile) range and a 20-km/h (12.4-mph) top speed, you won’t even need to get up to go to the bathroom.

    To help you back it out from your desk, there’s a rearview camera and 360-degree proximity sensors. If you need to make the long trek down to accounting, you can blast some road-trip tunes with the touchscreen media system through the built-in loudspeakers. And if there’s a traffic jam at the coffee machine, you can lay on the horn.

    Embedded in the armrests are a pair of headlights to help get around on those overtime shifts, and in true gamer accessory fashion, the chair is also kitted out with some flashing RGB LEDs. To keep that backside toasty over the long work day, there’s a built-in seat warmer too.

    https://www.volkswagen.no/no/norges-mest-populare-arbeidsplass-pa-fem-hjul.html

    Fact checkers at Faceplantbook will no doubt be bulk ordering…

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    John Connor II

    Thursday entertainment: I’d suggest a land-based sport instead.

    https://youtu.be/ufTAqYlY0m8

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    CHRIS

    VW = The People’s Car. What are we raving about??

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    Dave in the States

    They are still doing it:

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/go-suspicious-ballots-arrive-way-legal-deadline-detroit/

    The Gateway Pundit has exclusive video and photographic evidence that the City of Detroit in Michigan was collecting thousands of ballots significantly after the legal deadline in 2022. This video is from the Detroit Department of Elections at 2978 West Grand. Ballots are processed there, entering and exiting through the garage in the alley behind the building.

    And:
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/breaking-kari-lake-goes-tucker-carlson-brings-incredible-news-video/

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    Hanrahan

    What happened at 8:30 New York time, o/night here, to make the US$ fall out of bed?

    I check out the gold price and it’s up US$50 but steady in A$s. The A$ actually rose 3c against the greenback.

    Just looked, the DOW is up 1,200 pts. and the ASX is up at the opening.

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      Hanrahan

      Little things amuse little minds.

      Seems the CPI came in at 7.7% YoY and not 7.9%.

      Really?

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        Ian

        Seems the CPI came in at 7.7% YoY and not 7.9%.

        I think the reason for the boost in the Dow is not the 7.7% as such but that the all items index increased 7.7 percent for the 12 months ending October, this was the smallest 12-month increase since the period ending January 2022.

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    KP

    Socialist Morning Herald has the ‘truth’ on Ukraine because they have real reporters there! (Although I’m sure their salaries aren’t paid by the SMH!)

    In talking about the city of Kherson they reckon-

    “The city is the only regional capital Putin’s forces have captured and it serves as a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean peninsula which Putin illegally annexed in 2014.”

    Sadly, if they WERE there they could easily find out Kherson city is a good 100Km West of the Crimea neck, and the only bit of Kherson city the Russians are giving up is West of the big river that runs through it.

    Who controls Kherson city has no influence on Crimea at all, and either side trying to cross the river into enemy territory will be in trouble, which is why the Russians are giving it up. They can’t supply troops on the West side without bridges, and bridges are an easy target these days.

    The rest of it was just tear-jerking with the usual stories of local people living in a war zone. The sort of stuff they completely ignored in Afganistan or Irag or Syria or…

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/russia-s-retreat-from-kherson-does-not-mean-the-war-is-over-20221110-p5bx4i.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true

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      Stuart

      the water pipeline to Crimea goes near the city so yes they control Crimea.

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          another ian

          And looks like they’ve been short of water from it for a while –

          “Ukraine shut down the canal in 2014 soon after the Russian annexation of Crimea. The flow of water was restored in March 2022 during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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            KP

            That is true, but it is fed from the Khakova dam & hydro plant. I expect that will become a “special arrangement” so neither side blows it up, which would leave Russia with no water for Crimea and Ukraine with no city at Kherson.

            Ukraine has been hitting it with missiles for quite some time now, not to collapse the dam, but to destroy the road part, they both need the dam. Russia’s answer would be a pipeline from somewhere else on the Dnipro river, maybe Enerhodar where they control the nuclear power plant. Maybe a desal plant in Crimea, we have a few spare here..

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