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
A great week or two.
Brexit, Turxit and Shorxit.
And thankfully done with the ballot box and not the gun.
Britain has again shown that an unarmed citizenry can control the government.
Amazing heritage to ponder.
KK
131
KK
And when Turnbull starts talking up his win remember
“Pyrrhic Victory”
80
Yes,
the boats, drifting aimlessly in the twilight, flames lifting from the decks as the piles of “how to vote” handouts from the green _ lib_ lab machine are burned to erase all traces of the voter rebuttal of manipulative politics.
KK
70
Interesting to see what was known about ozone in 1860.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13041509
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Interesting, oxygen electrified but missed that it is O3-, very heavy oxygen. The passing commment was fascinating though “Meteorology, that obscure and uncertain science which William Herschell compared to a romance composed of interesting episodes”.
At the time though Ozone was thought to be very beneficial and more prevalent at sea level. So in Victoria you had Ozone Hotels and even the paddle steamer Ozone. In the popular Hepburn springs sanitorium you also had popular treatments by Radon gas (deadly) and 240 volt AC shocks. (also deadly). We come a long way.
Ozone has since been shown to be carcinogenic and produced by photocopiers which use evil carbon, of course. The most interesting late 20th century science discoveries include CO2 controlled global temperature and that the ocean currents have nothing much to do with climate.
In fact according to the UN’s IPCC, only tiny invisible CO2 from cars and manufacturing and farming in Western Democracies controls climates. You would think that required some sort of proof, but not according to our very own 350 full time climate scientists of the CSIRO who could find neither a link nor climate change itself and in fact no temperature change in a decade at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars and a heap of homogenization by the BOM/CSIRO, so we are told to just accept it is true and move on. Must be true. Who needs proof of a theory when it is obvious?
70
Does anyone know when the next tipping point will arrive, when there’ll be no turning back from catastrophic global warming? I’ve kind of lost track after the last 20 or so declared tipping points.
140
Maybe this is it: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-10/unprecedented-10000-hectares-of-mangroves-die/7552968
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“International mangroves expert Dr Norm Duke said he had no doubt the “dieback” was related to [Global Warming].”
Dr Norm Duke is photographed standing next to his fossil-fuelled helicopter.
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But hang on. This is his conclusion:
30
Here is UAh for Australia..
https://s19.postimg.org/a7il0obxv/Australia_UAH.png
What warming ?
Norm, please show us data that shows the Gulf of Carpentaria is warming..
or are you just Assuming.
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I have evidence of die-back not far from my place at 19.2 S. Maybe it’s time to dig it up from an old CD. Mangroves are “early adopters” of coastal sediments and are easily affected by relatively small changes in coastal topography, eg a few extra centimetres of sandbar. The area of the fly-over looks to be highly volatile. The last image on the ABC page indicates that the mangroves aren’t actually dead. Plenty of live leaf closer to the waterline.
90
I thought the gulf is tropical…next… So what is the real cause of this mangrove die off? I’ll bet they havent done the science yet to determine the real cause..handy to blame ‘warming’.
30
ScienceAlert!
We’ve passed the point of no return when it comes to stopping a rise of 1.5°C in global temperatures, a new study has found.
61
Oh Dear!
40
1.5°C in global temperatures…
since the depths of the LIA..
THANK GOODNESS !!
113
Perhaps lining these Climate fools up against the wall before the trigger happy firing squad; would be the best ‘drastic action’
40
Maybe the last election?
20
They don’t come anymore ‘unthreaded’ than this …
. DEADLY FORCE: ‘Snipers caught lurking’ by gates of mystery Area 51 to keep out intruders [video]
. Hillary On Area 51 Secrets: ‘I Think We Ought To Share It With The Public’ [VIDEO]
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‘I Think We Ought To Share It With The Public’ her husbands sentiments must be rubbing off.
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“Hillary On Area 51 Secrets: ‘I Think We Ought To Share It With The Public’”
Do you think that ‘The Hillary’ can name the partofUS/State that Area 51 might be in? 🙂
40
and the president of the EU commission reported that aliens on other planets are concerned about brexit:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/07/07/green-eu-commission-president-claims-aliens-are-worried-about-brexit/
the loony left….
40
They breed them in Area 51.
That’s where the incubator is.
Everybody knows that.
We don’t need Hillary to “share it with” us. They been releasing them into the community for years. Why else do you think there are so many green-leftarts inhabiting the joint?
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If all these people wanting to get into Area 51 could actually get in I wonder what they would find. Some say space aliens. Some say flying saucers captured from space aliens. Some claim this and some claim that. Even their stories seem inconsistent and in conflict with each other.
So what is in Area 51? If you could get in what would you see? There seems to be no limit to the fantasies that have grown up around this mysterious place. Imagination makes the bogyman seem larger, more dangerous, more bizarre, more [you name it] than the reality probably is.
Space aliens and flying saucers… …I think not. A testing ground for military aircraft that push technology to the limit… …probably yes. At the time the F-117 stealth fighter was being developed would you have tested what you wanted to keep secret from potential enemies at some air base where it could be seen by thousands every time it made a move? Remember, air bases usually have hundreds of those pesky witnesses living nearby and working on the base. Or would you do that test flying out in the middle of the Nevada desert where only rocks, cactus, snakes and sagebrush would see what you’re doing? That’s where I would go. And I surely would post guards and equip them with whatever it takes to stop the rubberneckers from entering.
As for sharing it with the public? C’mon HIllary, not even you are that stupid.
Or are you? 🙁
40
”
Showing Up To Riot
Well, in their own legislative way: GOP Lawmaker Pushes Bill BANNING EPA Officials From Airline Travel
The amendment is likely an effort to get EPA officials to practice what they preach. Republicans have criticized top EPA officials for logging thousands of air travel miles while issuing regulations on how much carbon dioxide can be emitted by power plants, cars and other sources.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and the head of EPA’s clean air office Janet McCabe both said they travel home from Washington, D.C. on weekends to visit their families. McCarthy regularly goes to Boston, Massachusetts, and McCabe heads out to Indianapolis, Indiana on weekends.
McCabe has also spent a lot of time travelling around the country promoting the agency’s so-called Clean Power Plan — a set of rules aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Now pass it, dammit.”
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2016/07/showing-up-to-r-13.html
Maybe we should suggest similar to Pauline H?
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Don’t I wish!
Unfortunately there is probably a constitutional issue with it, since it prohibits only a small, part of the population from doing something based solely on where they work.
I could wish for a bill that would limit the president and his family to no more than a certain number of hours in the air in any given year. Now that would bite hard! Unfortunately the same question arises as with the ban on EPA travel.
What’s really needed is a clean sweep by Republicans in November, unfortunately also problematical.
30
Chiefio looks at violence and guns
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2016/07/06/violence-guns-puzzlement/
And the comments
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Chiefio has drawn the bassically correct conclusion. There is no better, more thriving black market than that in firearms. I’m quite certain that if I wanted to get a gun without the State of California prohibiting it or even knowing about it, I could do it. The bad guy cares not one little bit for the law. Otherwise he wouldn’t be the bad guy in the first place.
Unfortunately, the things we need, like better background checks for a criminal record and mental instability are never going to be done well enough to work because the cause is political.
Instead California wants to limit magazines for semiautomatic weapons to no more than ten rounds capacity, require trigger locks and so on, things the will never be found on the black market gun. Ask yourself, how hard is it to carry along two or even three or more ten-round magazines, how much time does it take to swap an empty one for a full one? It’s easy and the time is measured in less than five seconds. And some of our street gangs have had machine guns.
They never read our history, they never read our founders on the necessity of being able to be armed and they never look at the actual picture on the ground. So we all suffer now, as I’m sure that word of the recent gun violence has reached around the world. And there is no letup in sight.
By the way, the sniper in Dallas apparently had a perfectly legal rifle. He ended with the explosion of a bomb carried to him by a robot. I have a hard time mourning for him.
Please pray for my country.
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“Eat organic, kill the planet
Organic farming is sold as good for the environment. This is correct for a single farm field: organic farming uses less energy, emits less greenhouse gasses, nitrous oxide and ammonia and causes less nitrogen leeching than a conventional field. But each organic field yields much, much less. So, to grow the same amount of wheat, spinach or strawberries, you need much more land. That means that average organic produce results in the emission of about as many greenhouse gasses as conventional produce; and about 10 per cent more nitrous oxide, ammonia and acidification. Worse, to produce equivalent quantities, organic farms need to occupy 84 per cent more land – land which can’t be used for forests and genuine nature reserves. For example, to produce the amount of food America does today, but organically, would require increasing its farmland by the size of almost two United Kingdoms. That is the equivalent of eradicating all parklands and wild lands in the lower 48 states”
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2016/07/organic-is-the-45.html
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2 UK’s? No problem. 3.8 million sq. mi. divided by 0.094 million = 40:1, so the US would have to convert another 2/40 of its area to rig-a-con farmland, or about 5%. Could probably be done, but definitely not worth the effort.
20
Motto from the ships crest of HMS Aurochs. Possibly relevant to many of the topics of discussion on this web site.
http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/submarines/pages/aurochs_p_426_message_board.htm
H/t the Naval Officers Club Newsletter.
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If a jolt changed Earth’s axial tilt,
With oceans o’er landmasses spilt,
The watery mess,
Might an Ice Age progress,
From the North, over land, like a quilt.
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I think that’s really good Ruairi. 🙂 I had a good giggle at the last bit!
10
A week of production for the S.E. Australian Wind Turbines
With the alternating high and low pressure systems passing the southern coastline there are corresponding periods of low and high production from the turbines.
Starting last Saturday the 30th. June average production figures were:
Saturday…. 40%
Sunday…… 37%
Monday…… 45%
Tuesday….. 47%
Wednesday….40%
Thursday…. 17%
Friday……. 8%
Saturday…..25%
Then the wind picked-up and production is currently 50%.
Notably from midday on Thursday until midday on Saturday average production hovered around 10%, a bit less than 400 MW.
It even fell as low as 160 MW on one occasion during Friday.
The salient point is that one cannot maintain a 24/7/365 electricity grid based on intermittent wind energy, irrespective of what the politicians tell us about it.
On the Friday there was a period for several hours when half of the turbines in S. Aust. were idle and average production was 3%. Later on Saturday all the turbines in Victoria and NSW were totally idle, not one watt of production.
Currently, the turbines are back to around 50% capacity as the low passes through, but in 3-4 days time the same sequence of events will take place as the next high approaches.
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As a highlight – view the output for yesterday and deselect all states except Victoria
http://energy.anero.id.au/wind-energy/2016/july/9
You will see that for the “1220 MW” of wind turbines, total output was ZERO for 8 hours between 10am and 6pm.
Then only select NSW and for the “651 MW” installed there, it’s even worse – less than 50 MW for entire day and ZERO for 16 and a half hours between 3am and 7:30pm
Interconnectors would need to be able to handle the ENTIRE demand if we were to rely totally on wind turbines, no matter how much capacity was installed.
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Thanks Robert O for your regular updates reminding us how useless renewables are. What we need are similar updates on the MSM. They could work them in with the stock and currency reports .
“today the dollar is up to 76 cents. And now for the energy report….coal is producing 80% of your electricity, hydro 18% with wind and solar contributing a mighty 2%”
Yeah, I know I’m dreaming.
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Thank you Robert. Must say i was a bit disappointed Shorten lost. I was rather keen to see how the windmill led recovery would work. Mind you, given that the PM’s department has turned dark green we may still get to see this phenomenam in action. It seems our man Mal is always open to new and innovative ideas.
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Sorry, i think “new and innovative” is a tautology, but i was using pollyspeak.
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I think that should be “polywaffle”
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At this point in time the wind turbines are averaging at about 70% capacity. However, the ones in NSW are still at 10% capacity
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Robert O: all very well for fans (no pun intended) of wind turbines, but what fraction of Australia’s total energy requirements are these machines producing?
What exactly is ‘70% capacity’, for example?
This looks impressive, but doesn’t convey the full picture, does it?
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Take an average day at 6 pm. Total demand a bit under 30,000 MW made up of 26,000 MW of thermal generation, up to about 3000 Mw of hydro, wind can be anything from about 400 MW up to 2200 MW and Solar is 000 MW. With the average capacity of the wind turbines around 25%, wind would average about 1000 MW, but it is intermittent and fairly unpredictible. Having said this it is possible to say wind will produce 50-80% of capacity for the next day or two, but by Thursday it will drop to 10% or so.
20
woke up to ABC RN “My Place” featuring leading climate activist and “ALL-ROUND LEGEND” tim flannery talking of his work in the 90s in West Papua/Irian Jaya.
ABC will never lose faith in the guy.
posted full details of the following yesterday on jo’s “Politically-tragic” thread – see comment #54:
9 Jul: UK Express: Remain campaigners will NOT get a second referendum after Cameron officially bins proposal
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/687875/Remain-campaigners-not-get-second-referendum-Cameron-bins-proposal
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For anyone who can stomach it, you can listen to Timmy’s radio spot here
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/blueprintforliving/sense-of-place-tim-flannery-on-west-papua/7574194
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It is comforting to know what your Aussie tax dollars are doing for the good of the planet. In the April 2016 ERF auction the Australian taxpayers purchased 50+Mt of carbon abatement. This is direct action at work. The cost was AUD10.23 a tonne of CO2 making a total auction value of AUD516M.
You can find a list of all the worthy projects here:
http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/ERF/project-and-contracts-registers/carbon-abatement-contract-register
I have not made a thorough tally of the projects but the majority of the funds appears to be going to farmers for a promise to not clear more land for the next 100 years.
I have seen reports that farmers are concerned that big industry is getting into the act on this benevolent scheme and driving the price of abatement down:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-27/carbon-farming-auction-good-start-to-reducing-emissions/6418792
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Like mother like daughter, Labor Party members pay for Chloe Shorten’s good clothes………..
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2016/07/like-mother-like-daughter-labor-party-members-pay-for-chloe-shortens-good-clothes.html
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Bjorn Lomborg’s latest update claims that the fra-dulent Paris COP 21 agreement will cost one hundred TRILLION $ and reduce global temps by 0.17 C by 2100.
IOW 100 TRILLION $ will be wasted for no measurable difference at all. Why isn’t this fra-d exposed by journalists all around the globe?
Remember Harry Markopolis exposed the Madoff Ponzi scheme fra-d but couldn’t get the US SEC to take any interest. He worked hard for another 9 years before he was vindicated. He told the US Congress that he was convinced of Madoff’s fra-d after looking at the data for ONLY 5 MINUTES. Unbelievable.
Of course the CAGW mitigation fra-d infects the entire world and makes Madoff’s effort look like a fleabite. When will they wake up? Here’s Lomborg link.
http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=40608ac93880d1cb2444f1d20&id=7a48e19e22&e=8b63f2f893
Reply
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Why am I in moderation ?
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“Why am I in moderation ?”
Because you appear as an octagon rather than a octonion! 🙂
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Congratulations.
Carry the honor with pride.
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Did you use the’f’ word?
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“Did you use the’f’ word?”
Using the ‘I’ word, or the ‘M’ word is now ever worse! I propose ‘equal opportunity bigotry’, please refer to anyone else as ‘that MF’! 🙂
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Aloha Snackbar, Mofo be praised! 🙂
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Its always good to do most things in moderation. 🙂
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Centre-right, so to speak 😉
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Someone broke the thread … again !!!
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The thread breaks if a reply is made to a comment in moderation (by the author, of course) – the reply ends up at the end of the thread.
Any replies to this reply or other replies in the chain end up as separate comments at the end of the thread until the original comment is released from moderation.
Then all the replies fold back up to their proper locations.
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I wonder if Jo can make it so that the author cannot reply to his/her own post if it is moderation?
That would solve the issue.
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This is extremely troubling……..
The “Kev”, $AUD1Bn. Chairman Mal continues the KRudd tradition of weekly 1 Kev cash advances
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2016/07/the-kev-aud1bn-chairman-mal-continues-the-krudd-tradition-of-weekly-1-kev-cash-advances.html
It does not bode well for Australias ballooning deficit.
This article has a great way of actually visualizing how truely huge it is.
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Not good news for our first supercritical coal-fired power station.
Callide C power receivership blamed on banks, poor coal supply
Can anyone explain the coal supply situation, given the current low prices for thermal coal?
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Has the UK dodged a bullet?
How do you reconcile these two bits of news ?
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/687844/IMF-EU-brink-of-collapse-euro-currency-scrapped
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/07/09/former-european-union-president-hired-as-new-chairman-of-goldman-sachs-international/
The guy who presided over the EU for a long time and now it is said to be on the brink of collapse, is now Chairman of one of the world’s more important banks. Clearly the deterioration of the EU finances have not happened in the last year or so –these take time to occur (ie. includes much of the time he was President)
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Ross –
barroso for GS? how appropriate.thanx for the link.
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Goldman Sachs uses long term job offers to influence policy makers. Plus it recycles upper management into the US Treasury. This is the true secret of its success.
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I know that we’re all heartily sick of this election, but for those who are interested, you can cruise the AEC site for some interesting things.
I wanted to get a handle on how things were going in my own electorate.
I’m in Rockhampton, and my electorate is Capricornia, held by the LNP, and perhaps the most marginal in Australia prior to the election, and virtually a dead set certainty to swing back to Labor, which this seat traditionally favours.
However, it looks like Michelle Landry has actually held on, and after the result is finally declared, Capricornia will be perhaps ….. the most marginal in Australia. The fact that she did hold on is a pretty amazing thing considering more safe seats did fall to Labor.
The next electorate to ours is Flynn, also traditionally Labor, and it looks likely Ken O’Dowd (LNP) will hold on to it there as well.
Interesting here is that both of these members sit with The Nationals in Canberra, and why it is interesting is that The Liberals lost seats and The Nationals actually gained a couple, strengthening that side of the Coalition, and perhaps giving Barnaby Joyce a good case for more Ministries for The Nationals.
Now, the AEC.
And here I’ll concentrate on my own seat, but you can do it for your own seat, if you wish to.
Here’s the link to the AEC Home Site. (for this election)
See that Menu at the left there. Click on results by Division. Scroll down and click on Capricornia. When the page comes up, you’ll see the swing graph, two candidate preferred, and under that, the table of actual voting listing first preferences. Note that for my electorate, The Greens ran last, even though they improved their vote percentage marginally, because this time there were three less candidates.
Under that, as you scroll down, you can see where the votes came from, those who voted on the day, pre-poll, postal, absentee, etc. and note here the high rate of Postals for the LNP, almost 50% of all of them.
Now, scrolling down even further, you can drill down to how things went at your individual polling place, and mine here was Glenmore, strongly Labor.
Right at the bottom you’ll see that there are still a lot of votes yet to be counted.
You can also do the same for the Senate, (left side menu again here) and you can drill down by State, your own electorate and also where you voted. Of interest here is when you look at the individual electorate breakdown, you’ll see that it looks like they haven’t even started to count the individual votes here, just the ticket votes and the unapportioned for an early total, and here, my guess is that this is the above the line vote.
There’s a long way yet to go for a Senate Count, even before the process of distributing preferences, but here I wonder if preferences are exhausted if you only numbered the 12 squares below the line.
Also of note here is on that original Senate page for your State, note at the top right, the number of votes needed for a a provisional quota, and that breakdown by State is interesting.
New South Wales – 254,606
Victoria – 183,366
Queensland – 155,366
Western Australia – 79,736
South Australia – 57,991
Tasmania – 21,633
ACT – 74,116 (only 2 Senators here)
NT – 26,031 (only 2 Senators here)
Now, while you see Tasmania with such a low number for one quota (only 10% of the NSW figure) that won’t ever change while the major parties see it as a way to get four/five (each) easy Senators.
And if you think The Senate voting is a little difficult to wrap your head around, wait till the distribution of preferences to decide the final one or two Senators for each State. Now that really is convoluted.
All interesting stuff really.
Tony.
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Regarding the election, I see Cory Bernardi claiming that 1.7 million voters voted for right parties that were not Liberal. Does anyone know how he gets these figures?
I have no idea which minor parties might be considered right wing – other than Nats, ALA and One Nation.
30
He probably added up the first preference votes for those parties from the downloads available on the AEC site – it’s far easier to do for the senate than the lower house.
As for other right wing parties, they also include the christian ones, Family First, Rise Up Australia, Hinch… I researched the Victorian senate runners to find which to vote for before the Coalition
30
The ACT will shortly be pushing for more Senators.
I would suggest splitting the 8 between Tasmania and the ACT to half each
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Those GetUp! clowns really went out of their way to do the opposite of what conservatives aimed for. Apparently, they pitched for the ousting of those Liberal members who failed to support Turnbull in his coup.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/federal-election-2016/federal-election-2016-getup-proves-force-to-be-reckoned-with/news-story/049de92ad4c625fa510f4e2c9563b813
I had thought GetUp! was more a left wing rather than centrist group – their member polling showed overwhelming support for Turnbull over Shorten.
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Actually, on reflection, the level of GetUp!’s membership support for Turnbull indicates how left of center he is!
40
For those interested in USA politics / Presidential race.
On Real Science ( Steve Goddard’s site ) a poster gave the following “tip” –google ” Comey Lynch Clinton HSBC ” . Oh what a tangled web!
30
hmmm!
29 Jun: CIA: Director Brennan Speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Central Intelligence Agency Director John O. Brennan at the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC
Global instability is one of the defining issues of our time, and its implications are hard to overstate. As instability spreads, extremists and terrorists are finding sanctuary in ungoverned spaces. Energy supplies are being disrupted…
instability is an issue that affects all countries, from Russia to China to the United States, and it must be met by a strong, collective response from the international community…
Another example is the array of technologies—often referred to collectively as geoengineering—that potentially could help reverse the warming effects of global climate change. One that has gained my personal attention is stratospheric aerosol injection, or SAI, a method of seeding the stratosphere with particles that can help reflect the sun’s heat, in much the same way that volcanic eruptions do
An SAI program could limit global temperature increases, reducing some risks associated with higher temperatures and providing the world economy additional time to transition from fossil fuels. The process is also relatively inexpensive—the National Research Council estimates that a fully deployed SAI program would cost about $10 billion yearly.
As promising as it may be, moving forward on SAI would raise a number of challenges for our government and for the international community. On the technical side, greenhouse gas emission reductions would still have to accompany SAI to address other climate change effects, such as ocean acidification, because SAI alone would not remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
On the geopolitical side, the technology’s potential to alter weather patterns and benefit certain regions at the expense of others could trigger sharp opposition by some nations. Others might seize on SAI’s benefits and back away from their commitment to carbon dioxide reductions. And, as with other breakthrough technologies, global norms and standards are lacking to guide the deployment and implementation of SAI…
https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2016-speeches-testimony/director-brennan-speaks-at-the-council-on-foreign-relations.html
10
with links:
26 Jun: Vice: FEMA Contractor Predicts ‘Social Unrest’ Caused by 395% Food Price Spikes
Written by Nafeez Ahmed
The studies published by CNA Corporation in December 2015, unreported until now, describe a detailed simulation of a protracted global food crisis from 2020 to 2030.
The simulation, titled ‘Food Chain Reaction’, was a desktop gaming exercise involving the participation of 65 officials from the US, Europe, Africa, India, Brazil, and key multilateral and intergovernmental institutions.
The scenario for the ‘Food Chain Reaction’ simulation was created by experts brought in from the State Department, the World Bank, and agribusiness giant Cargill, along with independent specialists. CNA Corp’s Institute for Public Research, which ran the simulation, primarily provides scientific research services for the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Held from November 9-10 in 2015, the “game” attempted to simulate a plausible global food crisis triggered by “food price and supply swings amidst burgeoning population growth, rapid urbanization, severe weather events, and social unrest…
CNA Corporation is a government contractor established in 1942 to provide scientific research for the US Navy and Marine Corps. Its CEO, Dr. Katherine A. W. McGrady, is a scientific analyst to the US military’s Chief of Naval Operations and the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.
Four different organisations commissioned CNA Corp to conduct the exercise: the ***World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Center for American Progress, giant food corporation Cargill, which controls a quarter of US grain exports, and Mars Inc., the global sweet manufacturer.
One outcome was a panel hosted on Tuesday by the Center for American Progress on ‘The National Security implications of Climate Change and Food Security’, featuring Nancy Stetson, the US State Department’s Special Representative for Global Food Security…
On the other hand, some simulations that have explored business-as-usual scenarios for a global food crisis—such as a complex model created by Anglia Ruskin University’s Global Sustainability Institute with funding from the British Foreign Office—forecast that current trends could result in a wholesale collapse of industrial civilization…
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/fema-contractor-predicts-social-unrest-caused-by-395-food-price-spikes?trk_source=homepage-lede
PDF: 16 pages: FoodChainReaction.org: CLIMATE, CONFLICT AND GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEMS
The year is 2020 and the world’s food system is under increasing stress. Extreme weather and political conflict
are undermining food production and creating shortages. Prices are skyrocketing. Social unrest is growing.
Populations are at risk.
How will the world respond?
Food Chain Reaction was an international simulation held in Washington D.C. in November 2015. Over the course of two days, 65 thought leaders and policy-makers from around the world, confronted crises, flash points and trade-offs. They emerged with a way forward, and a clear mandate that the time to act is now.
http://foodchainreaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Findings-Report.pdf
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6 Jul: Nature: Obama’s top scientist talks shrinking budgets, Donald Trump, and his biggest regret
John Holdren tells Nature about the highs and lows of nearly eight years in the White House.
by Sara Reardon & Jeff Tollefson
NATURE: Opinion polls continue to show a divide between what the American public thinks about science and what scientists think. Has Obama done enough to change the way that science is perceived?
HOLDREN: The president has done an incredible job in making science cool for young people…ETC
http://www.nature.com/news/obama-s-top-scientist-talks-shrinking-budgets-donald-trump-and-his-biggest-regret-1.20198
4 pages: 7 Jul: Thomson Reuters Foundation: Laurie Goering: Zombies out, cool tech in: Climate comics sketch new vision of warmer world
LEEDS, England – Thanks to the success of Hollywood disaster films, from “Waterworld” to “The Day After Tomorrow”, it’s not hard to imagine an apocalyptic future as climate change takes hold…
“People are naturally drawn toward disasters as stories. If you don’t have any jeopardy, you don’t really have a plot,” said James McKay, an engineer who runs a centre for low-carbon technologies and bioenergy at the University of Leeds, in northern England. “If everything’s going well, there’s not much dramatic tension.”
But McKay, who for 20 years has moonlighted as a creator of comics, thinks he has found a way to overcome that: through publishing “graphic novels” that paint a picture, in drawings and stories, of a better future…
The project got its initial funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Ingenious grants…
Another round of funding, for the second graphic novel, has come from the University of Leeds and Research Councils UK…
When creating the latest novel, McKay and his team asked school children to imagine creative solutions to deal with climate change…
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N19S2YD
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8 Jul: ClimateChangeNews: Ed King: Christiana Figueres places ‘hope’ at centre of UN pitch
“I believe I have proved my stripes,” she told reporters. “The last six years shows I can get things done in the multilateral arena.”
It is a pitch that draws heavily on Barack Obama’s “change we can believe in” 2008 presidential campaign, and one she elaborates on in a 16-page vision statement. (LINK)…
“Today we are witnessing a downward spiral of political dislocation, where lack of trust in political systems is leading people to seek solutions based on exclusion, division and isolation by community, ethnicity, religion, gender or nationality,” writes Figueres.
“Some of those who seek to impose their will through force have become more sophisticated and, unfortunately, more cruel – with increasing disregard of human rights.”…
Figueres also seems to have taken inspiration from Pope Francis’ positioning at the Vatican, who presented himself as the only man who could reform a vast and stale organisation…
“By embracing this new form of multilateralism we can address the wide array of international peace and security threats we face. It is our best chance to improve the lives of people everywhere,” she writes…
A loyal boss, Figueres has appointed a small team, drawn from her years in climate.
Her chief UN climate advisor ***Tom Carnac leads the campaign, Brussels veteran ***Tim Nuthall handles the media and London-based environmental think tank E3G adds intellectual heft…
“It is very clear that climate change is a major emergency… it and the sustainable development goals are one and same agenda,” she said.
“They are principles for peace, human rights and development into the future. I do not see them as being different.”
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/07/08/christiana-figueres-places-hope-at-centre-of-un-pitch/
E3G for “intellectual heft”? plus
***Tom Carnac (LinkedIn):
Advisor, Climate and Energy Track
Clinton Global Initiative
September 2012 – January 2015
Account Manager, CarbonSense
December 2004 – October 2006
Tim Nuthall (LinkedIn)
European Climate Foundation, 2009 to 2014
Senior Press and Broadcasting Officer
The Labour Party
January 2002 – May 2008
Christiana Figueres: Vision Statement: Restoring Hope
The full version (16 pages) of the Vision Statement can be found here in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish…
http://www.christianafigueres.com/restoring_hope
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How many “climate advisors” does Tinkerbell need?! A few years ago, old IPCC-hand, Joe <the only thing that counts is numbers> Alcamo rode to the rescue.
See: Old-hand Alcamo picked to rescue “tinkerbell” Figueres?
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It really is child abuse. By that I mean what the media, and so called educators, have done to the rising generation. I received a comment from a younger person from the UK on Brexit, to quote:
“It is just bitter that the future of the young people is decided by the old people who lived their life already…”.
Of course this person is just parroting the narrative presented by the opponents to Brexit in the media, but I have also heard comments from this person such as:
“Global Warming has been proven through and through.”
This person is also a committed anti-capitalist.
Educators have done this to a generation of young people. An generation of scientific and economic illiterates. An generation that has its hopes in such as; the EU, the UN, and a welfare state somewhere. A generation that has been told that previous freedom winning generations and the institutions they created and protected from the likes of the WWII opponents, and the cold war socialists with guns, were actually oppressors of the poor and planet killers. A generation that believes that man made climate change is a real existential crisis. That have been told that ridiculous schemes and scams such as carbon taxes can control the weather and the climate, and save the planet.
And their elders are to blame. Their elders have ran up debts that the next three generations can’t pay off after we are gone. And we are dismantling the very institutions of freedom, and truth, and knowledge, and capitalism, that they will need to dig out of the hole their selfish elders created. So in a way he is correct that older people that have lived their lives; have left young people with such a mess.
It is criminal. It really is.
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Which ‘older’ people have done this? We are not all to blame. The general rule worldwide was always ‘older and wiser’ from life’s experience and elders were respected. Not all oldies are wise but it’s a fair bet that most have learnt a lot from life’s battering, rather more than the youngsters.
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For the most part the younger generation’s teachers and professors, and also many of our political leaders, as well as many people in the media.
It is true that younger people are often carried away by ideals, often left leaning, until they learn from life experience. For example, my nephew was 18 and voting for the first time in 2008. He thought Obama was just short of a god incarnate at that time. Now that he has has been out in the world for 8 years he is much more sober about such things.
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It looks like Turnbull and the Liberals have won ( I believe Shorten has conceded).
Will Turnbull last and if so for how long ?
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Turnbull is safe and media junkies say Abbott won’t get a Ministry.
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Get the latest from Miriam English et al over at:
http://theaimn.com/from-serial-pest-to-senator/#comment-475318
It really a hoot as to how little the Luke-warmers have learned of any that contradicts “the religion”! 🙂
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Hi Will, How long do you think my post will remain there. 🙂
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Hi Andy
Good comment.
It deserves a link of its own.
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Andy your comment is unlikely to be taken down, the blog master needs the biff to remain relevant. Keep up the good work and put in a word for me to be reinstated, then we can have some real fun.
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I only have so much time in the day.
And have work to do.
Those twerps are “true believers” in the worst sense, right down to citing SkS and the 97%…. seriously brain-washed.
I haven’t the time or the patience.
The coming cooling trend should sort out a lot of this nonsense anyway. 🙂
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Yep its a lost cause, but I find taking them on sharpens my mind.
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Will
That last paragraph is brilliant.
Says it like it is.
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I’m banned at AIMN, they don’t appreciate heretics.
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‘The current Cycle 24 is less active than Cycle 5 and 6 of the Dalton Minimum, which occurred from 1790 to 1830.’
http://notrickszone.com/#sthash.IFbs8lBe.dpuf
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