JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
Excellent article on it being time to abandon the failed experiment of peer review. I also recommend his follow-up article and even the psychology paper he released in the way he’s advocating (both linked from the above article).
Really liked his metaphor of some fields (like aircraft safety) being “weak link”, where you really worry about the weakest link, versus fields like science which are “strong link” — that you don’t worry that Newton published stuff about alchemy, his physics and optics are what you care about.
Haven’t noticed this article being linked here before. I found it via EconTalk.
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Completely agree with this. Suprised?
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Or even care?
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Its worth reading both his discussions there- Peer review is a failed experiment, and publishing in journals for prestige has not helped science.
What he missed was the perfect examples we have been discussing here for three years, the effect of “scientists” on science over covid. Any discussion I have over covid always gets disparaged because the work wasn’t peer-reviewed, or randomised, or controlled or.. some other reason people think needs to be done yet the mainstream science they believe in is no better.
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Yes his linked articles were also well worth reading.
COVID and climate nonsense owe a lot of their strength to the “infallibility” of peer review. If he wins his battle, that’s a serious blow to COVID and climate. No need to take them head-on.
What he says about peer review reminded me of one of Feynman’s statements, that if a scientist can’t explain something in terms an intelligent layman would understand it means that the scientist doesn’t really understand it himself.
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Thousands of Protestors Swarm Pfizer HQ; Demand Arrests for ‘Crimes Against Humanity’
Thousands of protestors swarmed Pfizer’s World Headquarters in New York City on Saturday to demand the arrest of top executives at the company for ‘crimes against humanity.’
This isn’t the first protest to be held outside Pfizer’s HQ.
Earlier this month, Project Veritas parked a billboard van in front of Pfizer World HQ that looped undercover footage of a Pfizer executive discussing how the company engages in gain of function research.
Protests have even sprung up at its international offices, such as the one in Paris, France, where protesters called the COVID jab manufacturer “assassins.”
This latest protest comes days after the Florida Surgeon General released damning VAERS data showing a massive uptick in vaccine injuries since the rollout of the experimental jab.
https://newspunch.com/thousands-of-protestors-swarm-pfizer-hq-demand-arrests-for-crimes-against-humanity/
Finally waking up, for all the good it’ll do.
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It’s a good start.
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Considering the validity of Pfizer’s defence that it was the US Government which committed them to the “crimes”, shouldn’t the ultimate destination of the valiant protestors have been the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington DC?
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Now Woke Scientists Are Gunning For Words And Phrases They Think Should Be Banned
Members of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Language Project — founded by scientists in the U.S. and Canada — have put out a list of “harmful terminology” in science that they want banned.
Writing in the Trends in Ecology and Evolution journal, the scientists say they want to “champion inclusive language” in science, which is “particularly important for redressing the ongoing marginalization of many groups.”
They don’t like “feminized” or “masculinized.” “Feminized implies that ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ are biological traits rather than social constructs,” they said. Instead, they suggest writers simply “describe the specific traits.”
They don’t like “blind” or “double blind,” two kinds of experiments scientists sometimes run. Why? They are “disability metaphors.”
“Survival of the fittest”? Sorry, Charles Darwin, that phrase implies “eugenics” and “ablelism.” Instead, they say you should use “natural selection” or “survival differences.”
And all of these terms are horrible: “master / master file / master equation / master variable.”
“Perpetuates harmful stereotypes and connotations to the enslavement of people of color and normalizes language implicated with slavery and enslaved people,” the scientists wrote. Instead, use: “primary / main document / primary equation or variable.”
http://www.stationgossip.com/2023/02/now-woke-scientists-are-gunning-for.html
Double-blind is now to be called “visually-impaired twice” and “master/slave” will now be “wife/husband”.
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They could start with “Climate Science”. Those two words should never be used together. They also cause catastrophic paranoia in school children and uneducated adults especially politicians.
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In that vein – Military Intelligence.
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How about the news of today that Roald Dahl is being stopped from using the word “fat”.
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From the article:
“Let’s not focus on that anymore” for “let’s not beat a dead horse”
Funny, I’ve beaten many dead horses and none of them complained.
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Here is a story which highlights the problems raised in comment #1 and also comment #2
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-17/covid-infection-gives-similar-immunity-to-vaccination-study/101989472
The study from the now totally discredited (via abuse of the peer review process) Lancet organisation claims natural immunity lasts as long as the toxic clot shot. Of course un named experts say its safer to get the clot shot rather than Covid…..Oh how we laughed.
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If this was your quantum mechanics demo, your two cats are identical.
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Here is a story which highlights the problems raised in comment #1 and also comment #2
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-17/covid-infection-gives-similar-immunity-to-vaccination-study/101989472
The study from the now totally discredited (via abuse of the peer review process) Lancet organisation claims natural immunity lasts as long as the covid shot. Of course unnamed experts say its safer to get the shot rather than catch Covid…..Oh how we laughed.
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And with my innate immunity, I never caught any versions of the Coronavirus and have never been jabbed. Never will get jabbed either.
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I suspect they may eventually hunt us down and force us to take the jab just like the new NZ PM has threatened to do.
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How would you know if its asymptomatic for some? do you test that often?
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Never been tested either. Never saw the point.
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I am tested three times a week. Each time I visit my wife in the nursing home I am obliged to provide a negative sample. I start the test about 10 km from the home and it is complete by the time I get there. I am surprised at the number of dud test kits; maybe 1 in ten.
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Researchers test blood donations to estimate how many people have had the virus — they look for antibodies to the S (Spike) and N (nucleocapsid).
Vaccinated people have S antibodies, but not N.
People with antibodies to the S and the N have had covid one way or the other.
They could easily offer us all these tests to find out who had natural immunity. That they don’t speaks volumes.
I’m not sure how long the antibody tests remain valid — after a certain point (6 months?) some people will no longer test positive, though they may still have t-cell immunity. That’s a different test. Obviously, they could offer that test too, but don’t…
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None of the Pandemic measures made sense. Doctors and Nurses could have loaded up on Vit C/D/ZN/HCQ/IVM and been willingly exposed to acquire natural immunity and then be able to work around covid patients without masking and PPE etc. Instead all hopes were pinned on a hyped “Vaccine” that turned out to be as real as a $3 note. Ditto for people under 70. Pumping dangerous mystery mRNA into Kids and Pregnant ladies exceeds Dr Mengle’s nefarious experiments.
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If a tree falls in the forrest……..
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In my case, I assisted a handicapped family member in an outpatient rehab hospital program which required that I get a PCR test within 48 hours of each twice-weekly attendance. On one such test I returned a positive result. I consistently tested positive to RATs for several weeks. I had no COVID symptoms prior to the positive test and no COVID symptoms subsequently.
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And you know this how? Peer review in The Lancet is highly rigorous, unlike the obscure we’ll publish if you give us money online ‘journals’.
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LOL, are they still paying you to defend there crimes Simon?
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I think you are extremely naive, Simon.
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Iirc Lancet published “designed to fail” trials if Vit I and D3.
Didn’t they have to withdraw one?
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And they also published, but later withdrew, junk science about HCQ.
Just imagine how bad it must have been for the once-reputable Lancet to withdraw it?
SEE LINK FOR REST
I won’t be forgiving or forgetting about the scientific and medical misconduct and fraud that led to millions of covid deaths.
Remember, the Left are starting to beg for forgiveness and want us to forget. Don’t give in.
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The Lancet can’t be trusted, they believe ‘climate change is the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century.’
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Got a quote? Believe? Sheesh
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Wasn’t hard to find the quote Peter. Look at the headline in “The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change” for 2022.
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You, of course, know by now that the words “climate change™” are meaningless, because they imply changing of the climate by human released CO2.
.. .. which you know by now, is absolute nonsense. !
In fact, you know by now, that the slight warming out of the LIA has been highly beneficial to the whole planet, as has the increase in atmospheric CO2.
So you know by now, that anyone mentioning that “climate change™” is a threat to anything, is just doing it for propaganda, control, or monetary purposes.
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Agreed 100%
Activists and the MSM never misses the opportunity use the words “Climate Change” to strongly imply that any changes to weather, floods, droughts and bushfires etc. are all caused by human released CO2.
However there is never any difference made between natural and man-made CO2 as it suits their narrative to deceitfully lump it all together. N 400 ppm vs mm 12 ppm.
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‘Got a quote? Believe? Sheesh’
The Lancet is peddling propaganda and making people anxious.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01540-9/fulltext
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We know from scientific research that natural imunity last at least up to eleven month. These data are based on biopsy of bone marrow and these 11 month may be in the meantime increased as longer time series may exist.
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In other news the much vaunted flat track bullies AKA the Australian Cricket team are tonight in tatters after the humiliating second test loss and now its Captain has returned home for “personal reasons”.
I believe the problem is they have become soft, too much 20/20 rubbish and also woke agendas like rejecting sponsorship from coal mine companies etc.
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The Australians put on a miserable batting display.
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They need to rehire Justin Langer as coach.
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Simple tweet from an old player stirred things up #justinlanger
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Cummins seems to be the Turnbull of cricket. Espousing his ever woke views on everything and especially climate , while living in a mansion in Vaucluse. Spare me.
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China’s disgusting behaviour in the Turkey quake rescue
https://youtu.be/i0k-UNiYTBY
Let’s send a rescue team then wait 10 hours for the rest of their people to arrive, so they can sing praises to the CCP and raise Chinese flags at every opportunity to tell the world how awesome China is.
Shameless crass publicity stunts.
Time to can their “developing nation” status…
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I tend to be suspicious of any public figure who talks of “Chinese spy balloons”.
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Why?
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Because it was a meteorological balloon. In this day and age the whole concept of a 70 metre diameter, earth circling “spy” balloon is ludicrous.
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You are the only one in step.
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I don’t have a problem with that. Reality remains reality regardless of how few people accept it at the time. Even if it is only one.
In this day and age there is simply no valid logic in the notion of a technologically advanced, space capable nation operating highly visible, largely unsteerable easily shot down “spy balloons”.
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Don’t flatter yourself.
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I don’t have to.
It’s easier to just sit and watch while others make fools of themselves.
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” others make fools of themselves.”
They’ll all be rooned.
🙂
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The logic is price of course.
You say, “China can afford satellites” … sure, they have them as well.
China can afford old fashioned human spies? Yup, they have them too.
Bribes? Also covered.
Internet hacking? Done.
There’s really no type of espionage they haven’t tried … why not send a few cheap ballons? They are somewhat steerable by raising and lowering altitude, same way a human balloon pilot controls the flight.
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I watched a presentation where the presenter figured that China as we know it will have returned to a number of city states within the decade. His reasoning and explanation is impressive. The rush to urbanisation, the one child policy and geography all work against China.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS4Vw6cuW4M
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Predictions are difficult, especially about the future.
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Peter Zeihan has a lot to say on the topic. Sometimes I think he doth protest too much but he is worth listening to.
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FWIW
Various Ukraine war links here
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/complex-comprehensive-analysis-of-war-in-ukraine-from-simplicius76/
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The guy seems well informed but his “thesis’ is at odds with video footage that I’ve seen , if Russia were just toying with the Ukraine which seems to be the inference here they have lost a lot of equipment and personnel just to say they stepped over the line with one toe into Ukraine. Or am I reading his “thesis” wrong ?
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Robert,
The only way Ukraine can “win” is to negotiate now . Too many loose cannons with access to nukes for any survivors if we use them . Otherwise Ukraine is toast – Russia has more equipment and supplies than Ukraine and the west is running dry . The tragedy is how many lives are lost and cities and towns are levelled .
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I fear the prospect of negotiation has long passed. It ended when Putin, having bloodied Ukraine’s nose, offered to negotiate a settlement. Zelensky was initially receptive, but then Boris Johnson talked him out of it. After that Zelensky started strutting around the world stage demanding weaponry, and NATO aligned countries, including Australia, accommodated him.
At that point Putin changed tactic, and I doubt he will stop now until he has obliterated all trace of the Zelensky regime all the way to the Dnieper, or been militarily stopped by combined NATO efforts. For a variety of reasons my money is on the Russians.
That will leave the bulk of the productive area of former Ukraine under Russian control with all its mineral and agricultural wealth, and the “new” Ukraine reduced to the far less productive western rump.
Which, of course, is why Stalin invaded and annexed Ukraine in the first place, displaced the ethnic Ukrainians westwards, and populated the east with ethnic Russians.
Funny how history has a way of repeating itself. Only this time it was the west who started it by breaking their agreement with Russia about occupying any of Ukraine.
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Trust is hard to earn and very easy to lose.
And after the shenanigans of the Minsk Accords etc since 2014 it will take a hell of a lot for US/NATO/EU to repair that damage
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Independent Ukraine was already defeated by Bolsheviks in 1920 and the last hold-outs were finished off in 1921.
Stalin only started his rise to power in 1922 and was not fully a dictator until 1925. The Bolsheviks hated the Ukrainians for resisting and Stalin imposed deliberate famines from 1932 to 1933 … not just on the Ukraine but also to punish various other regions for the collective crime of insufficient loyalty. The hard-left New York Times happily published articles telling lies about the Stalin’s famines to the American people, ensuring no one did anything at the time … the NYT have never been honest and little has changed.
Crimea and the local area near the Azov Sea has been ethnic Russian ever since Catherine the Great (conquest of Crimea by force, mostly in retaliation to earlier Tatar raids on Russia) and the founding of Sevastopol … which was the time when many Russians were moved into that area, for military reasons … more than a century before the USSR existed.
The nearby Don Cossacks were historically mostly loyal to Moscow although a separate ethnic group, but Russian speaking. The Donbas was a mix, being the in-between region, just outside Don Cossack territory.
It gets even more muddled up when, during WWII, those Ukrainians who collaborated with the Germans, blamed the local Jewish population for the crimes of the Bolsheviks a decade earlier … then enthusiastically took part in the genocide going on … after WWII they found themselves taken over by Russians once more, which might have been uncomfortable for them.
There’s a long line of grudges leading up to where we are today … unlikely to be settled anytime soon.
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Interesting.
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Old goat I’m sorry but on the ground right now an old dementia patient from the USA is in Ukraine not Putin and on the ground right now who is gaining ground ? It’s a stalemate after one year into a six day “military operation” . Putin has had his backside handed to him despite Russias overwhelming military superiority it’s accounted for nothing but thousands of body bags and untold billions in destroyed and captured military hardware . Yes Ukraine have suffered casualties but on the ground right now what is happening?
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Unpacking The Science Of Earthquake Forecasting
Was the earthquake that killed over 20,000 people in Turkey and Syria on Feb.5 foreseeable?
Is there a science of earthquake forecasting or are the priests of modern science correct to assert that these disasters are intrinsically unforseeable beyond the limited use of statistical probability theory and analyses of “elastic rebound” of the tectonic plates?
In this program, Matt and V lay out the deeper methods used by successful forecasters like the Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets who distinguished himself in forecasting the disaster of Feb 5 (and dozens of other similar forecasts since 2014). We will unpack Hoogerbeets’ methods that involve an appreciation for the electro magnetic environment of the earth, and broader solar system as well as the conjunctions, oppositions and other planetary geometries that induce amplifications of EM currents moving through our solar system.
https://principia-scientific.com/unpacking-the-science-of-earthquake-forecasting/
https://frankhoogerbeets.com/
Frank Hoogerbeets is a Dutch researcher and seismologist who gained notoriety for his earthquake predictions based on alignments of celestial bodies. On February 3, 2023, he tweeted about a potential earthquake in Turkey and the tweet quickly went viral.
It is important to note that earthquake prediction is still a developing field and the ability to accurately predict earthquakes is still limited. Currently most earthquakes occur without any warning and while there are some methods for identifying areas with increased risk. There is no reliable method for predicting the exact timing and location of earthquakes.
Frank Hoogerbeets has made a prediction that the next earthquake will occur in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indian and the Western part of Indian Ocean. This prediction has gone viral on social media particularly after the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Ahh…the good old planetary alignment theory. Don’t forget the galactic current sheet.
Let’s see if his prediction pans out.😎
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“It is important to note that earthquake prediction is still a developing field and the ability to accurately predict earthquakes is still limited“. Wouldn’t it be good if climatologists would profess a similar level of humility?
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Over 41,000 now confirmed dead.
Does any keep track of Frank Hoogerbeets’
predictions that don’t happen, or quakes not predicted?
Does he only predict very large ones?
Feb. 19th UTC 8:00
M3.2 at 43.397°N -127.305°W
23.7 miles west of Bandon Oregon
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https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2023/02/did-earthquake-guru-frank-hoogerbeets-really-foresee-the-disaster-in-turkey-and-syria/
Saying 3 days before the event that sooner or later it’ll happen, given the warning signs evident ain’t good enough.
Now, warn weeks or months ahead of time of an 8.0 and get it right. 😎
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He professed to not be a prophet. He can only predict when its going to happen, not where.
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Chris Gilliam has been wading through data comparing mercury recordings compared to the digital variety. Jennifer Marohasy reveals what we already suspected.
‘In summary, the available 90th, 95th and 99th percentile data provides compelling evidence that platinum resistance probes in automatic weather stations increased the frequency of hot, very hot and extremely hot days in Australia since 1996, with a further change in the pattern of increase since installation of the replacement probes to as recently as 2016.’
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On the topic of the ongoing energy crisis, folks might like to check out the collected papers prepared by the Energy Realists of Australia (NSW group) since 2020.
https://www.flickerpower.com/index.php/search/categories/general/list-of-briefing-notes
There is also a handy package of basic information to briefly explain the futility of the net zero obsession.
On the impending crisis in WA, it was interesting to read that a senior official spent months modelling the WA supply of gas and coal, to conclude that you can’t afford to get rid of the coal burners before 2030 or beyond. How much modelling is required when you can refer to the Iron Triangle of Power Supply in the electricity grid, bearing in mind to the logic of testing (or falsification, as Karl Popper called it.)
The three aspects of the triangle are:
1 Continuous input of power. Adequate input is required all the time, not just most of the time or almost all the time.
2 Wind droughts and especially windless nights break the continuity of input from wind and solar power.
3 There is effectively no storage to bridge the gaps (despite all the talk about batteries and pumped hydro.)
Consequently the proposition that the grid can run on wind and solar power is falsified and there is no justification for the decision to contaminate the grid with subsidized and mandated intermittent input from environmentally ruinous wind and solar facilities.
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Reminds me of the triangle “model” I kept reinforcing with management on major projects. Time, Cost, Quality ; don’t dream you can move one parameter significantly without affecting the other two.
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Where I worked, the “triangle model” was ” Cheap, Fast, High Quality, pick any two”.
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I think that there is something more to this story than being revealed. If there is sufficient gas, and Perth seems to adequate gas peakers ready, then why is the WA govt spending so much money importing coal? They have already said that coal power will be gone by 2030, with the largest generator, Bluewaters, not receiving energy contracts in 2025. I cannot understand the money being spent to retain coal energy when they plan to shut it all down soon.
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And tonight, a hot night, is a perfect example of what’s happening with the SWIS grid. As domestic solar drops away to zero from its daytime 26%, gas has significantly increased to 52% and coal has gone up slightly to 29%. Wind is notably absent at only 11%.
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There is plenty of local coal available, Graeme.
The reason it is not being supplied is the financial situation of the mine owners, not the productivity of the mines. Just another example of the “benefits” of allowing strategic assets to be owned and controlled by foreign interests.
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Test text message warning of
world warnational crises to be sent to your mobile in weeksA disaster alert that warns the public about the outbreak of war or a pandemic will be tested for the first time within weeks.
A “national warning message” will be sent directly to every mobile phone across Britain later this month or in early March.
Before the alert is sent a publicity campaign will warn people to expect it and not to panic when they get it.
Officials say the test may be the only time a nationwide message is sent but it will demonstrate that the new system is capable of reaching every part of the country.
Alerts can also be limited to specific areas by controlling which mobile phone masts they broadcast from. In practice the system is expected to be used for local “extreme weather warnings” such as flood alerts.
The Government previously sent out a national text message at the start of the Covid crisis in March 2020, ordering people to stay at home, but this was only possible with assistance from mobile phone operators. Rather than sending a text, the new emergency alert uses an app included in Android and Apple iPhone.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1736517/World-war-text-message-pandemic
Everyone move to Panama and leave the UK for the illegal immigrants.😉
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Shouldn’t it be ‘War of the Worlds’ text message, I’m sure it will have the same effect as back then..
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guarantee their will be a degree of panic, no matter how much communicating they do
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The panic alarm test may be likened to a comedian putting the punchline before the joke.
Reminds me of the comment by NASA after a fragmented half-tonne meteorite hit ground in south Texas last Wednesday:
Meteorite safety with hindsight.
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Asphalt additive could continuously keep roads ice-free
Ice on roads isn’t a good thing, but neither are the eco-unfriendly chloride-based salts used to melt it. Scientists have developed a greener and more effective alternative, however, that could be mixed right into the asphalt and remain active for years.
The chloride-based ice-melting salts which are currently spread on roads can harm the environment when they run off the asphalt and into nearby waterways.
They may also degrade the very roads that they’re de-icing, plus they cause cars to rust and they have to be applied repeatedly throughout the winter. Even then, once a fresh layer of ice forms on the asphalt, drivers are stuck with it until the ice-spreading trucks arrive again.
Scientists from China’s Hebei University of Science and Technology (and other institutions) set out to address those shortcomings, starting out by developing a chloride-free acetate-based salt. Such salts are considerably less environmentally harmful than chlorides, they’re less corrosive to steel and other materials, plus they work at lower temperatures.
When the special asphalt was tested on the off-ramp of a highway, it was found not only to continuously melt the snow that fell upon it, but also to lower the freezing point of water from O ºC (32 ºF) down to -21 ºC (-6 ºF). What’s more, based on lab tests, the researchers estimate that a 5-cm (2-in)-thick slab of the pavement would continue to release its salt capsules for seven to eight years, keeping the road clear that whole time.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsomega.2c07212
Probably a few more applications for this too.
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Seven to eight years? No bloody good here, the Aussie Govt keeps a road surface going until its a patchwork of patches joined together after several decades!
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Canada is beating that!
There was a mention on SDA of one province having a “de-bituminising program” for its roads
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Makes sense.
Horses and wagons don’t really need bitumen. Besides it’s murder on the horses hooves.
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Continual salt for years, sounds ideal for car longevity. I guess the next step will be for concrete highways.
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“will be for concrete highways”
ker-clunk…ker-clunk…ker-clunk…ker-clunk…ker-clunk…ker-clunk…ker-clunk…ker-clunk………….
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There is a stretch of concrete road, a dual-carriageway, in Gloucestershire, near where we used to live. We knew we were nearly home when we got onto that very noisy part, with its strange ringing sound. I seem to remember that there were quite a few concrete roads in the UK.
Cars there had a sealant underneath to protect them from the salt. I expect one of our cars has it as we imported it from England. When the roads dried you could see a fine layer of salt on them. Driving in bad conditions of snow and ice could be very ‘interesting’, as you could find yourself following the vehicles spraying out a mixture of sand and salt. Best to keep your distance!
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Don’t believe the label: No science behind bulk of baby formula claims
Providing an infant with correct nutrition reduces morbidity and mortality rates, reduces chronic disease risk and promotes mental and physical development. But, according to a recent international study, many of the health and nutrition claims made on infant formula products are not backed up by science.
A recent international survey looked at the health and nutrition claims made between 2020 and 2022 on infant formula available in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the US.
Researchers looked at claims that linked the product, or an ingredient contained in it, with a beneficial effect relating to infant health, growth and development. They identified 757 infant formulas that made an average of two claims.
Of the products that made one or more claims, 53% claimed the formula “helps/supports development of brain and/or eyes and/or nervous system,” 39% claimed it “strengthens/supports a healthy immune system,” and in 37%, the claim was that the formula “helps/supports growth and development.”
Of concern to the researchers, in 74% of products, there was no scientific evidence to support their particular health claims.
Where products did provide scientific references, more than half (56%) referred to reviews, opinion pieces, or animal studies, not human studies. Only 14% referred to prospectively registered clinical trials. Prospective registration is the process where researchers publicly specify the details of a trial before enrolling participants. In 88% of cases, the registered trials received funding from the infant formula industry or bodies directly affiliated with the industry.
https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-071075
More marketing BS.
Don’t forget milk for growing strong bones!
Collagen? Wassat? 😁
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It’s food. All these other benefits are made up nonsense, no different to any other milk. The reason Australian baby formula is so prized is that no one packs it out with white melamine plastic as happened in China. It surprises me that Cadbury make snicker bars in China. I have never seen a Chinese cow and they are not famous for their cheese or chocolate. I dread to think what they would use? Polyfilla?
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“Billionaire investor Geοrge Ѕorοs said he fears for the future of humanity unless more radical measures are taken to tackle climate change.”
“In a speech distributed ahead of the Munich Security Conference, Sοrοs backed the idea of using experimental geosolar technologies to shield the Arctic from melting, as well as an overhaul of international finance to address the challenge ahead.”
LINK TO ARTICLE, Fortune.com
So what is the Munich Security Conference, held last week?
According to npr.org, it’s “dubbed the Davos of Defense” and “attracts heads of state, generals, intelligence chiefs and top diplomats from around the world.”
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FIFY
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Gosh, why am I not surprised that this socialist utopian project is a failure. Even a commentator of the now-woke Australian admits to it.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/six-years-of-bungled-billions-time-to-cut-losses-on-snowy-20/news-story/d486f6656e8978e7b2a2110c90f88325
Six years of bungled billions; time to cut losses on Snowy 2.0
TED WOODLEY
Snowy 2.0 is again making headlines with more delays, tunnelling problems and cost increases. So, on the eve of the sixth anniversary of its announcement in March 2017, let’s have a quick recap.
The vision for this “nation-building” pumped-hydro battery was for it to be built in four years, for $2bn, with no taxpayer support. It was to generate renewable energy and bring down electricity prices, while incurring minimal damage to Kosciuszko National Park.
None of those lofty aspirations has turned out to be anywhere near true. During the ensuing six years the news keeps getting worse and worse, with Snowy 2.0 setting many unenviable records and fast becoming one of Australia’s most spectacular infrastructure debacles.
Record one: underestimated completion time – four years to 12-plus
[..]
Record two: slowest tunnel boring machines – 200m in a year
[..]
Record three: underestimated cost – $2bn to up to $20bn
[..]
Record four: underestimated subsidies – $0 to $1.4bn, with more to come
[..]
Record five: increasing electricity prices
[..]
Record six: inducing the NSW government to grant exemptions from environmental legislation
[..]
Misrepresentation: Snowy 2.0 is not a renewable generator, just an inefficient battery
90
Objection, its not a socialist utopian project. Its a green thingy, as you well know.
02
You were being facetious , of course.
10
Many a true word said in jest, the utopian socialists are a broad church.
10
And what he left out is that the 2400ton tunnel boring machine is now buried in sand, barely 150 metres in and cannot reverse out because of the reinforced concrete tunnel behind it. What’s the chance it is written off, cheaper to build a new one than disassemble in place and recover the pieces? And what sort of geology profiling did they do to not anticipate a landslide in tunnel?
60
To quote the ABC “The machine weighs 2,400 tonnes and measures 143 metres in length. As it bores the tunnel, concrete reinforcements are inserted behind it, meaning the TBM can not be pulled out the way it went into the tunnel.”
So it is technically just in the tunnel with the weight of a frigate. And has not started the tunnel in 10 months.
60
I suspect they don’t care about the cost because someone else is paying for it. Probably the taxpayer.
There is nothing to lose when a scientifically and technically incompetent politician orders a political project because the taxpayer will always pay, one way or another.
40
How much does a tunnel boring machine cost?
40
Steel costs around $2,000 per ton. So a 2400 ton pile of steel is around $50M. Now multiply x 5 for fabrication, so $250M. And you do not want delivery costs to a mountain side with assembly on site. But who cares? Just buy another one. It’s not our money.
40
? So how do you reconcile your $250m vs the $100m max that David quoted ??
00
That explanation for the situation doesn’t make sense.
When boring a tunnel there’s often a possibility of encountering ground conditions where the TBM cannot proceed without getting stuck or being severely damaged. TBMs therefor are designed to be withdrawn.
More likely is that engineers have recognised the ground is very heterogeneous, the TBM cannot proceed without more detailed geological investigations and a subsequent assessment of the best method to continue.
30
I have argued what happened and the conclusion is that we do not have enough information. I think we are only told the minimum, not the reality. 200 metres in 10 months of drilling means something was very wrong all along. I am surprised there is even enough room behind for concrete when the machine is nearly as long as the hole after most of a year. And no one starts drilling without having a good idea of the geology.
50
It’s like our first sea trials of the Australian modified and built Collins class submarine. Worked perfectly but they could not get it under the water, a submarine which didn’t. Which is roughly the same as building an aircraft which will not take off.
30
Indeed.
If the TBM has been immobilised since July, then the Facebook page assurances given in October that Florence was making good progress were false.
20
I covered that question about a week ago. Yes, the profiling was thoroughly done and the borer itself drills ahead in-situ. Snowy 1 also retained high-quality operational logs for reference. The geoscientists are not in the frame here.
What went wrong ? My best guess, informed by many decades of applied geoscience, is that the machine operator was cutting corners to meet a very pushy political schedule … you know, Hurry !! Hurry !! We need to close Liddell and Eraring down and destroy them pronto !!
Bowen is both ignorant and vindinctive. He sacked the previous General Manager for pointing out that the proposed Kurri Kurri gas plant (the gas source being methane) could not be run on “green” hydrogen because there is no viable supply of H2 anywhere. So what’s a mere tunnel borer to do under that sort of pushy management ?
40
The project is useless.
So where do we go from here?
Stop it now, which, of course won’t happen, and billions will already have been thrown away.
Or keep going and waste even more billions?
This is exactly why politicians shouldn’t be allowed to make scientific or engineering decisions.
50
Total Australian Government Debt, Federal, State and local:..$1.662 trillion.
https://australiandebtclock.com.au/
And almost nobody understands or cares.
51
I suppose it helps that a lot of young people are now functionally innumerate. They certainly won’t be complaining as long as the “free stuff” keeps coming….
81
So what happened around 2007? Hmmm….?
10
Those graphs werent even post covid were they? I’d shudder to think where that incline has gone now.
But it is astonishing that in 2013 all they talked about was debt. Now, no one talks about it at all. No one does.
I recall some economics expert on Sky saying in 2020 it doesnt matter how big the debt gets because we are going to be in a low interest rate economy for a long time. Experts. The US came close to defaulting recently but of course they decided to just write it up and keep going
70
$66500 for each Aussie… how many people could pay their share?
More importantly, how long before the average ocker can’t pay the interest on it!
50
And that’s for each and every person, including babies.
If you take into account the very small number of people that are not net tax consumers, that’s probably about one fifth of people, then it’s more like $332,500 per net wealth creator.
Australia has no real worthwhile future with those numbers.
Might as well revert to the Stone Age Australia was in 235 years ago.
30
If mRNA technology worked, cosmetic surgeons would be out of business! Instead of using fillers they would inject rejuvenating genes to replace fillers, encourage fat cells to divide/apoptose and hypertrophy/atrophy , increase muscle bulk. But they don’t! In the long history of mRNA technology they have been dangerous duds. The “manufacturing” certainly broke all standards.
51
a product of the great socialist experiment in Elizabeth aka “the biff” made several face book posts threatening to shoot up the local school. In the end he only had a gel blaster so crisis averted.
The interesting thing is police have charged him with the crime of “creating a false belief” ergo people thought he was going to shoot paeple at the school.
My question is would the likes of Gore and Flannery be guilty of the same crime?
110
Surely nearly every Australian politician since the mid-sixties has been guilty of that.
100
https://igorchudov.substack.com/p/vaccinated-blood-is-contaminated
For those that don’t give blood, there is a series of questions asked before you can donate. Some questions revolve around the taking of drugs/vaccines/experimental vaccines etc.
I can’t remember the time frame (maybe someone can).
30
Laurie mentioned in 7.2 a Peter Zehain you tube, and wow, it was interesting and clear, and covered everything energy, globalisation, China, net zero. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a copy that didn’t break up after an hour, so I looked at another of his podcasts. Pretty much covered the same topics, throw in Ukraine, and what to be doing to come out of the s storm (if you are in the southern USA, where they have cheap energy)( not unlike Aus coal blessings) Anyway, clear, concise, well illustrated, easy to watch x1.5. I haven’t heard anything that comprehensive, and wide ranging, without waffle in a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdmYkcRGemk&t=4285s
30
It is impressive how Zeihan knows everything about everything , everywhere. It will be interesting to see how his predictions of the collapse of the Russian oil industry, and Russia in general pan out.
20
Which ones? The one about Russia not invading Ukraine? He sounds quite impressive but …
10
https://www.msn.com/en-au/weather/topstories/map-reveals-the-areas-that-could-be-plunged-underwater-by-2050/ar-AA17GgsW?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=01c3db3c60cb4e1084967aa03c52f62d
Yet another prediction of the seas rising. When this one fails it will be ignored and they will move on to another, just like all the other times.
50
“In the UK, a 6.5ft (2m) rise within the next 20 years”
Really? People pay to read this s***?
10
Which shows that anything published in The Lancet will be heavily scrutinised. And that The Guardian is one of the few papers that undertake true investigative journalism.
Always triple check your data sources, Surgisphere were in retrospect extremely dodgy.
015
Do you seriously believe any of that Simon ?
80
the Guardian??? good grief
70
What’s is about the laughable links you usually provide ?
50
The Gruniad hasn’t investigated anything for a long long time.
They take their notes from the far-left political parties. !
You have NEVER produced any data sources, despite being asked repeatedly !
“anything published in The Lancet will be heavily scrutinised”
And regularly found to be totally incorrect and biased…
40
Simon, given that the Guardian can’t attract enough readers to support itself, who funds it and what is their agenda?
40
Slightly tangential , but the NZ government has announced that $50 million will be available to unknown persons and business, on unknown terms , with unknown criteria, because as you may have heard the weather has been inclement of late.
Contrast that with the $100 million the government used to buy up and own media in NZ to disperse propaganda in relation to covid.
Got their priorities right , I hear you say.
10
In Vicdanistan in another gross violation of human rights in this communist utopia, a mother is being denied a heart transplant because she refuses the clot shot.
SEE LINK FOR REST
30
Viktor Orban giving his ‘state of the nation speech in Hungary- I can see why the Empire want him gone!
“after our first historic two-thirds majority in 2010, we won a two-thirds majority in each of the three subsequent parliamentary elections. We still gained such a majority now, even though the entire Left in Hungary combined their forces against us, even though Brussels tried to starve our treasury, and even though Uncle George [Soros] rolled 4 billion forints here from America to provide his comrades with ammunition – to shoot at us. They came a cropper, they shot wide: not a little, a lot. They fell flat on their faces, and I think they will pay the price.”
Lots about being screwed by Brussels and the welfare state Hungary is enacting-
“we must stay out of the Russo-Ukrainian war. So far this has not been easy, and it will not be easy in the future, because we are part of the Western world, we are members of NATO and the European Union, and everyone there is on the side of war – or at least acts as if they are.
-the war in Ukraine is not a war between the armies of good and evil, but a war between the troops of two Slavic countries: a war limited in time and – for the time being – in space. It is their war, not ours.
Every country outside Europe is aware of the limited significance of the war in Ukraine and the primacy of its own national interest. Let us not isolate ourselves from the level-headed part of the world. The Hungarian viewpoint is an exception only in Europe – across the world it is the norm.
But we live here, and the war is on the soil of a neighbouring country. Brusselites have not yet sacrificed their lives in this war, but Hungarians have. While Hungarian symbols are being taken down in Munkács/Mukachevo, while Hungarian principals are being dismissed from our schools, many are dying heroes’ deaths on the front. The Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia does not deserve this.
the White House has retained its sense of humour, and instead of a “good friend”, President Biden has sent us a “press man”, an ambassador to ratchet up the pressure on us and do whatever it takes to press the Hungarians into the camp of war: to press a statement out of us in which we commit ourselves to joining in.
Children are sacred to us, and it falls to adults to protect children at all costs. We do not care that the world has gone mad. We do not care what repellent aberrations some people indulge in. We do not care how Brussels excuses and explains the inexplicable. This is Hungary! And this is where the strictest child protection system in Europe should be! Because gender propaganda is not just an entertaining caper, not just rainbow chatter, but the greatest threat stalking our children. We want our children to be left alone, because enough is enough! This kind of thing has no place in Hungary, and especially not in our schools.”
https://kolozeg.org/prime-minister-viktor-orbans-state-of-the-nation-address/
30
I see that my Social Justice Warrior POTUS has dropped by Kyiv.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/20/politics/biden-ukraine-zelensky-visit-one-year-war-anniversary-intl-hnk/index.html
‘It is foolish to assume your adversary is a lesser patriot.’
– Honk R Tzu
30
Well, Joe’s ties to the Ukraine go way back.
20
“BlueScope this week will finalise its response to Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s call-out to big carbon emitters for feedback to his plan launched last month to slash carbon emissions by 30 per cent by the end of the decade.”
“steelmaker BlueScope’s ranks as one of the top polluters and is likely to be caught out in the Albanese government’s new emissions crackdown.”
There is no way Bluescope or Ampol can reduce ’emissions’ without cuts to sales. It’s simple chemistry. You cannot burn petrol without producing CO2. And you cannot smelt metals without removing oxygen unless you destroy your blast furnances and stop making steel. And lead and aluminum.
So fantasy Woke Science is finally going to hammer two major Australian industrials. And steel making and oil refining and even distribution will go to China, like our coal.
And Carbon Dioxide is the enemy of the Australian people. Our ‘biggest polluters’ have to drop sales by 30% by 2030. China says so.
20
They came for the ‘big polluters’
and I did not speak out
because I was not a ‘big polluter’.
What is amazing is that the utterly irrational Woke science of man made CO2 is being turned into destruction of Australian companies as we watch. Then all manufacturers, miners, farmers, trucks , aircraft and cars, cows, termites and then people. We have ways of making you walk. Or ride Chinese bicycles when they are banned in China in favor of cars.
So we in Super Woke Australia are to suffer major hardship and disruption to save China from CO2 pollution? There is no CO2 ‘pollution’ and the Chinese who produce more CO2 than all other countries combined don’t care, so our governments will punish us instead. Why? Cui Bono because there is no other explanation.
30
Or you can take the Woke approach of Dr. Forrest and Mr Gupta, Green Hydrogen. Which is where you take ethane and throw away most of the energy and bury the carbon somehow, not yet known. And build new smelters for Green Steel, which is not going to happen. It’s as much of a confidence trick as man made Global Warming.
So you have liars talking to liars to fulfill a UN fantasy about the sixth element of the Periodic table. Chris ‘Chicken Little’ Bowen has declared Carbon War on Australian manufacturing, which is nearly dead anyway. No cars, no aircraft, no electronics and soon, no steel and no refining. And they call themselves the Australian Labor Party? One big solar panel for Singapore and open cut mine for China?
10
I would guess since the pushing of same sex narative we could call it un-natural selection
00
TURKEY-SYRIA BORDER REGION eartquakes still active, but no one talks about it ?
Magnitude: 6.4
Depth: 10 f km
Time: Mon, 20 Feb 2023 17:04:29 GMT
10
It’s all over the UK news sites.
00
Seeing as I am in moderation yet again , I’ll just pop this conspiracy theory here for one’s amusement.
https://therealslog.com/2023/02/20/analysis-ethiopian-political-genocide-ukrainian-biolabs-a-trail-all-the-way-back-to-marxists-at-the-core-of-covid19/
10
I wonder if I will be immoderate three times in a row.
Well , at least the free world is in good hands:-
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/former-white-house-doctor-bidens-medical-was-cover
10
Talking of covid response-
“Achieving worldwide policy coordination could not have been achieved without powerful means of coercion.
But what force could explain such uniform compliance with the same destructive policy mistakes by nations large and small, rich and poor, powerful and weak, all around the world?
Who could force nations of the whole world to obey its dictate, and how?”
Quite a good question, I think.
20
“Eh, Gawd!” Here we go again!
“Would a nature repair market really work? Evidence suggests it’s highly unlikely”
https://theconversation.com/would-a-nature-repair-market-really-work-evidence-suggests-its-highly-unlikely-199975
00
Dr Campbell
“SARS-CoV-2 spike mRNA vaccine sequences circulate in blood up to 28 days after COVID-19 vaccination”
https://youtu.be/fWVxVd6IGgg
Via SDA
00
FWIW
“Video: The Mass Extinction Fraud”
https://www.frontpagemag.com/video-the-mass-extinction-fraud/
00
And here we go again?
“Is NOAA trying to warm the current 8+ year pause?”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/02/20/is-noaa-trying-to-warm-the-current-8-year-pause/
00
More Electric Vehicle Lunacy
After the American Version
The Lunacy of Electric Vehicles – How’s your day going? – in 17 Secs
https://twitter.com/NoDMsPerfavore/status/1626285317597667330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1626285317597667330%7Ctwgr%5E4aff3409de2a5bb28d26610dc0faea569d76cd2b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fjimthompson%2F2023%2F02%2F17%2Fford-halts-production-of-its-f-150-e-truck-but-dont-worry-its-just-a-problem-with-the-battery-n704983
PS – The little things some people notice – Explains so Much!
We have the European version Eletric Smart Car being charged with Petrol generator on Roof
Gasoline generator on electric car
00
“Hypothesis: Diversity Hiring Kills”
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=248148
10
Or maybe better on the “Snowy 2 – Prize” thread?
00
Global cooling is affecting UK fruit and veg. supplies, well that’s the excuse. A lot of growers in the UK and no doubt Europe too, have been leaving glasshouses empty because the energy required to heat them is too expensive. They are only growing one or two crops of tomatoes etc. a year, when they would grow all year round.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/02/20/21/67896273-11773479-One_shared_a_notice_in_a_Tesco_store_that_read_Cold_weather_in_S-a-84_1676929973093.jpg
10
One way
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTC2tRna–K8aL1eHP7Jj7npnpCyeVTcOqaiu4Sl1w3p8kAeXhCH4yb05VYRlwYTHbXRbcyn7PnZncmwkOXobaT4JE98Tgdz1RUt4gbS3lfoCBRLdb5F0Rnh4lEglRc5FBrn1hATqvazEePjAdsrXRA74Hb_DBfk-TF5RpwR1bjNeoT1PgomcVRy5/w324-h400/Meme%20-%20cursive%20and%20stick%20shift.png
00
John Kerry’s Taxpayer-Funded Fight Against the ‘Climate Crisis’ Takes Him to Five-Star Island Resort
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/john-kerrys-taxpayer-funded-fight-against-the-climate-crisis-takes-him-to-five-star-island-resort/
John Kerry’s fight against the “climate crisis” has taken the jet-setting Biden administration official to yet another luxurious location: a five-star island resort in the Bahamas.
Kerry, who has served as President Joe Biden’s climate czar since January 2021, is on the Caribbean island for three days this week to “advance international cooperation among nations particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis,” the State Department announced Monday. Included in his itinerary was an opulent opening ceremony held at Atlantis Paradise Island, a lush five-star resort that boasts 14 swimming pools, 14 lagoons, dozens of luxury restaurants, a yacht marina, a private golf course, a world-class casino with more than 700 slot machines, at least 3 nightclubs, and a movie theater. Bahamian prime minister Philip Davis during a Wednesday night speech thanked Kerry for attending the ceremony, a line that was met with muffled applause.
00
Could be useful!
https://media.tenor.com/KgaNE2deR7UAAAAM/violin-tiny.gif
00
City of Venice has an interesting conundrum at the moment , no water in the canals . So much for sea level rises then but I’m sure it’s because of climate change I mean what else could it be ?
10
Moonbat thinking again
“Monbiot : We Must End Our Dependence on Farming”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/02/20/monbiot-we-must-end-our-dependence-on-farming/
In comments there
(Ruminants) – “Yep, they’re self-propelled, self-loading fermentation vats”
10
From another blog
“The endless printing of money will create another Weimar Republic where a loaf of bread demands a wheelbarrow of funny money. They know that. This is being done on purpose.”
“Be the funny money plastic or paper the “no fossil fuel” push will run out of raw material on which to print, ink to print with and energy to do the printing”
30