Monday

7.6 out of 10 based on 23 ratings

197 comments to Monday

  • #

    Greening the desert

    Our vision is to make the earth green again, by stopping and reversing desertification and soil degradation. With our unique product we want to turn degraded land and sand to fertile soil, and at the same time reduce the water usage for green ecosystems up to 50 percent.
    Desert Control offers the solution that can revolutionise the war against desertification. Liquid Natural Clay (LNC), can turn desert sand into fertile soil in less than 7 hours. A process which previously has taken between 7 and 12 years. This is a game-changer, fueling our hope to make earth green again.

    Reposted from Saturday thread as it may have been vanished out of sigh, I find that interesting as project.

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    • #
      Steve

      Do we really need Science/Hi-Tech solutions to help with a problem that in large part is caused by modern farming practices ?
      Is there any evidence that this (LNC) actually works ?
      And, where does the ‘Natural Clay’ come from ?
      Just asking, genuinely interested if this is feasible and environmentally sound.

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    • #
      John Hultquist

      Folks have been adding stuff to soil since Ol’Shep was a pup.
      Note “Vermiculite“, #6 at this site:
      https://www.thespruce.com/guide-to-soil-amendments-7095754
      from Wiki:
      Vermiculite is a 2:1 clay, meaning it has two tetrahedral sheets for every one octahedral sheet. It is a limited-expansion clay with a medium shrink–swell capacity. Vermiculite has a high cation-exchange capacity (CEC) at 100–150 meq/100 g. Vermiculite clays are weathered micas in which the potassium ions between the molecular sheets are replaced by magnesium and iron ions.

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      Honk R Smith

      I thought the horrible anthropogenic release of sequestered carbon was already doing that?
      https://www.nasa.gov/technology/carbon-dioxide-fertilization-greening-earth-study-finds/

      Sorry if I’ve misunderstood.
      I get my good and bad anthropogenics mixed up.
      Just just like my safe and effectives.
      I’m also recently confused about human reproduction.

      I don’t know about the sands.
      But I’m confident we can make the glaciers stand still.

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      Broadie

      John L Daly in his book ‘Still Waiting for Greenhouse’ discussed the problem associated with the really toxic green house gas in those desert regions. The problem is not nitrogen it is the lack of dihydrogen monoxide.
      The moist air rises at the Inter Tropic Convergence Zone / Monsoon hits cold air and the rain falls. This cold dry air then descends at about 30 degrees latitude and that happens to be where your great deserts tend to hang out. This phenomena is called a Hadley Cell.
      I loved the reason and simplicity of Daly’s works and I hope this is an accurate memory having read his book many years ago. From there I plunged into a life of thought crimes against the dominant paradigm.

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      Ronin

      “With our unique product.”

      Snake oil much. ?

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    • #
      another ian

      Repeated from Saturday

      “Seems to be a misplaced idea of what makes a desert –

      What about the basic lack of rainfall and how does adding clay fix that?

      Any proof of concept test plots around Poeppel’s Corner? ”

      Way back in BC TAA had a flight that went to Alice Springs via Birdsville, so across the Simpson desert. I came back on that once after rain and you could see the shine of the water on the clay pans.

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      KP

      Well, a slick advertisement with the usual parameters that keep me from investigating a product like that-

      No photos showing application, 1 week, 1 month, 6months, 12months..

      No dollar signs at all, even a rough costing of a project they have done saying “only $1.5million per hectare on this golf course”.

      ‘Its great, trust me bro..’

      I hope it works better than the instant lawn on all the new subdivisions, and it will need to work over several years to allow a decent micro-environment to establish. Its like the papier-mache with grass seed in that they spray on embankments after road works.

      If they can do it I’m sure they will become rich, although I can’t see the people who are causing desertification being wealthy enough to buy dirt.

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    • #

      If the Israelis can green the desert, then why can’t we do it here in Australia?

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        Vicki

        Israelis developed the drip irrigation system, used now all over the world – in fact, we use it on our house and vegetables gardens on our farm as it is a very economical use of precious water.

        From what I can see, the huge outback stations in Australia use “pivots” when they want to irrigate specific areas eg for a crop. These systems, as I understand, draw up artesian water and pump it out via a large circular irrigating arm. This process, unlike the drip system, results in quite a bit of water lost to the atmosphere.

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        • #
          Ross

          Vicki, lots of drip irrigation in Australia and has been for decades. Mostly in horticulture. Certainly centre pivots in a lot of Broadacre ag, but it’s very efficient. Depends on the crop. Lots of tomatoes for example are irrigated with buried T tape which is extremely efficient and water saving. It all depends on economics and water availability.

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        • #
          another ian

          Vicki

          Basically using Great Artesian Basin water for irrigation is not permitted. That has a practical side as the GAB water is alkaline and has salts – all of which is not good for long term soil health. I’m not sure of other artesian basins.

          AFIK those centre pivot systems tap local sub-artesian aquifers.

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      • #

        We can, and do !
        Check the Pardoo station in WA where they have change the barren desert into a lush geass feed property to produce Wagyu beef !
        https://www.pardoo.com/

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      • #
        Graeme#4

        In the Pilbara, Rio pump their excess water from one of their iron ore mines out onto fields of lush green hay, which is transported to a property nearby.
        And in Peru they irrigate parts of their desert, e.g., Ica, to grow veges for export – some of our imported asparagus comes from these places.

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    • #
      John Connor II

      Bacteria vs fungi dominated soils:

      https://64.media.tumblr.com/412b4a296840bb2bd314337d36b1bc9d/1aba0cd5e21b1d31-67/s640x960/52b53e038d019ede3462b61fae5a947637389db0.jpg

      Monocropping only exists for financial gains and to feed the ever growing population.
      With collapsing population, we can go back to real farming.

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    • #
      Lawrie

      I was under the impression that deserts had been shrinking and the world greening due to an extra few ppm of CO2. Crops are improving yields and with extra CO2 in the atmosphere plants need less water to grow. It seems if we just keep burning coal and gas we achieve the same ends with no cost and no labour. But we can’t have positive CO2 stories can we?

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      DOC

      I thought increasing [CO2]atm with a bit of seasonal change and where rainfall falls is currently doing the trick nicely. Maybe Israel has a few tricks we could look up as well. In Australia, there’s always the irrigation farming around Lake Argyle. Even Wiluna in WA had an agricultural site using bore water. One of the problems there was location; too isolated from markets, where the best time for sales is the opening of the fruit season before the southern orchards are ready to fire.

      Of course, the prophesies from AGW theory are used to ban more dams; just let the huge volume of multiple Sydney Harbours of water that make the lie of that theory, simply run back to the oceans (to hide the lunacy of that paleontologist from years ago) or run down the nation and fill Lake Eyre. Great for tourism and wild life, but really, couldn’t some of those waters be harvested to feed people? Sorry, I forgot. Those solar panels are farms now and need all that space to fulfil Mr Bowen’s energy lunacy.

      I haven’t tried eating their product, but with 8B, soon to be 10B people to be fed, No trees and a lot of useless scrap to eventually have to find somewhere to be hidden away, who knows? I bet they end up on/beneath some floodplain, water-contaminating site which will poison reclaiming the deserts for a thousand years. After that, people might find a mine full of high concentrations of rare earth metals never known to have existed in the area.

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  • #
    John Hultquist

    TACOMA, Wash. from KOMO News]
    — One of the two Pierce County men who vandalized electrical substations in a Christmas Day {2022} burglary scheme was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Friday.
    Jeremy Crahan, 40, pleaded guilty in September after admitting he joined Matthew Greenwood in a conspiracy to knock out power and rob ATMs, …

    Power stations are a key part of our community, and they are key infrastructure,” . . . Causing damage to key infrastructure is not tolerable.” So said the judge.

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      skepticynic

      “Power stations are a key part of our community, and they are key infrastructure,” . . . Causing damage to key infrastructure is not tolerable.” So said the judge.

      We need some judges here in Australia like that to pass judgement on our various governments destroying our key infrastructure e.g. coal-fired power stations.

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    • #
      Ronin

      “Power stations are a key part of our community.”

      Even though they vandalized substations.

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    • #

      “Power stations are a key part of our community, and they are key infrastructure,” . . . Causing damage to key infrastructure is not tolerable.” So said the judge.

      In which case, arrest Blackout Bowen immediately.

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  • #
    Vene

    Rick Beato with his son Dylan. This is quite amazing. I’m wondering though, what is his attitude to those who just want to sing even if it’s offkey.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    In Vicdanistan there is now a 10c container deposit scheme to supposedly encourage recycling. But a vast majority of people already recycled such containers by putting them in their recycling bins.

    To get the 10c back you have to collect the containers and then take them to a location to redeem them. This takes time and fuel and takes a large amount of space at home to collect enough containers to make the time and fuel cost of redeeming worthwhile.

    So what was the point and more particularly, who gets the 10c when you put the containers in the recycling as one used to do?

    It seems the only thing that has happened is that we pay an extra 10c for drinks.

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      CO2 Lover

      I bet the cans and bottles still end up in landfill.

      Not all containers are covered which makes it a nuisance sorting them out

      Just virtue signnalling

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        #
        CO2 Lover
        December 11, 2023 at 6:47 am · Reply
        I bet the cans and bottles still end up in landfill.

        Unlikely the cans will !
        Cans, ..aluminium for drinks, steel for food/veg, ..have always been a highly recycled product due to their value and the ease of extraction from the waste stream usung magnets and eddy current separators.

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        • #
          John Hultquist

          New equipment involves compressed air and various sensors to detect non-metal materials. A pulse of air blows an object sidewise into a collector.

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        DOC

        Duplication of method to the same endpoint. However, to store and gather the ten cents has some benefit. We collect ours and hand them over to a family of kids next door who deliver them somewhere and the cash goes to funding the Cancer Council. So, drink up people and be happy. You are donating to charity! Collect as many as you can and look to find a collection agency for some such organisation whose services we hope nobody here will ever need.

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    • #
      Simon Thompson

      “Vicdanistan” is now “Vicintystan” as in “Cinty” (Rita, her Grandmother referred to her as that!)

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    • #

      I thought the 10c scheme applied everywhere 🙂 Has to be used sustainably eg sustainable for YOU not the twits squawking about “recycle everything”. I have a collecting place within a few kilometres. I take 6 x 56 litre bags of plastic and aluminium 10c items. Easy to drop those in most car boots or back seat. All the 10c glass goes in the recycling bin at the house because the “non-rip” bags aren’t, broken glass is tricky to clean up, and 56l of glass is too heavy to lift.

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      Laurie

      If you’re throwing them in the Rec. Bin try destroying the Bar code, then the council can’t cash in at your expense.

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        John Michelmore

        I would have thought that it would be easier to eventually take them to a recycling depot and get your 10cents per item back, compared to destroying barcodes etc on every container.

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          Lawrie

          The kids don’t mind putting the cans through the Return and Earn so long as they keep the money. There are a few old timers around here who keep the roadsides and trash cans clean of 10c containers. On a good day they might pick up $30-$40. Tax free too.

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        Gee Aye

        That thing about the bar code has nothing to do with how the system works

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        Hanrahan

        Why would you do that? If the containers aren’t cashed back Coca Cola et al keep the 10c deposit. I don’t hate my council that much.

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          Gee Aye

          nope. Coca cola pay the 10c and charge the retailer and therefore the customer. The customer reclaims the money from the depot who claim it from the state government. Any container that goes to land fill is profit for the state.

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          • #
            KP

            ” Any container that goes to land fill is profit for the state.”

            ..and THERE’S the best reason to recycle that I’ve ever heard!

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          • #
            Broadie

            Wonder how much energy and effort is wasted on the process of charging and repaying some of what is clearly a legislated pyramid scheme.
            The scheme does have the added benefit of collecting personal details and bank accounts of the poor bunnies who sacrifice an awful lot of time and energy to recycle a few selected types of containers.

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      Ross

      I think most of us know it will be a disaster, just like anything the Victorian ALP touches. All those fancy collection points will eventually get vandalised, and after an initial spike in collections from the launch, the returns will probably be inconsequential. Recycling is a sham anyway and a further way of indoctrinating the kiddies. For instance the advertising uses young teenager girls to promote it.

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    • #
      John Connor II

      Collecting bottles for a few meagre cents deposit was my primary income as a kid, as a few of us no doubt recall.

      How many times have these schemes come and gone as they’re virtue signallers but not economically viable.
      Stories of recyclables just going to landfill, recycling centres going broke dot our history.
      As DM says, just another price hike for goods and everyone’s too lazy to collect enough to make a trip to a recycling centre and wait in a queue.
      Now, a recycling scheme for pollies and health experts, that’s a different matter! Recycle them into fertiliser, as they’re full of s*** to start with.😆

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        robert rosicka

        The big coke bottles were about $0.20 cents when we were kids , some unscrupulous mates used to jump the back fence of the local milk bar and grab an arm full of empties then go back around and cash them in for ciggies.

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      Graeme No.3

      I take my 10¢ stuff back to the local recycling station, which as far as I know, is a commercial venture. Very fast and about 2 km away. I tell them to put the cash in their charity collection (they have a choice for you).
      And, I used to work for a company recycling 50-100 tonnes of PET a year. Starting from clean sheets (Xray films) to recycled bottles, which got worse and worse until it wasn’t worth it. Crap, with bottle tops, labels and other (unusable) plastics. My view is that the old plastic should be burnt but that would incite our gormless Greenies to claim it should be turned into something else (with taxpayers’ subsidies) and save omitting CO2, or else ship it (more CO2) overseas where a lot goes down rivers to the oceans (enabling the gormless to complain again). After all Finland, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and other countries in the EU burn it and count it as non-emitting. Also some in the UK.

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        Graeme#4

        And Singapore. And Japan. That large plant in the background of Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid is their large incinerator plant.

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      Damo

      Yep, seems like you guys in other states adopted a policy, that was somewhat helpful in SA/NT in reducing litter, but will not really change practices in your states. (Other than to increase drink prices and introduce the palava of drink container recycling.) I suspect it’s more sensible for SA/NT to recind the deposit scheme and we all just dispose of our litter, thoughtfuly!

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Pallachook forced to resign

    All the State Premiers responsible for unnnecessary COVID lockdowns have now gone (With Andrew Barr ACT Chief Minister only remaining)

    Healthy people under the age of 65 were more at risk of the seasonal flu than COVID.

    This was a dark chapter in the history of Australia and should never be repeated

    However, those who do not learn from history are condemned to relive it.

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      David Maddison

      Don’t forgive. Don’t forget. Prosecute.

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        Earl

        Interesting (but unable to verify since hearing it) suggestion out of Northern Territory that a certain employment group who refused the “vax” and lost their jobs have been very very quietly compensated. Whispers can turn into roars so maybe time will (have to) tell because nothing else out there to confirm one way or other. Imagine non-discloseurs would have been applied.

        Meantime covid apparently is running riot in NT (and rest of country) according to this ABC blurb.

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          KP

          “The agency also highlighted there are anti-viral treatments available for those at “moderate to high risk”.”

          ooohh.. Ivermectin allowed in the NT?

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    • #
      David Maddison

      With Andrew Barr ACT Chief Minister only remaining

      The ACT is mostly full of public serpents. They would have supported the draconian lockups, loss of individual rights and NOT A SINGLE ONE lost a cent of pay, or their home like a lot of normal working people did.

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        Gee Aye

        ACT has a charter of human rights. You maybe forgot the discussion about how the commissioner stopped the government from implementing a lot of things that happened in other states.

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          Peter C

          Are you saying that the ACT Government wanted to implement the disasterous policies of the States but were stopped by the Human Rights Commissioner?

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      • #
        wokebuster

        Don’t forget federal public servants weren’t mandated to get the vaccine. Most of them did get it of course.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      I’m afraid that, the rational thinking community excepted, most of the Uniparty-voting public will soon have forgotten about one of the darkest periods of Australian history.

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  • #
    another ian

    More covid news — some reading for various medical bodies in Oz

    “In more terrific counter-revolutionary news, the Tennessean ran a story last week headlined, “COVID-19: Medical board deletes anti-misinformation policy amid GOP pressure.” The sub-headline added context: “Health Department attorney: Rep. John Ragan threatened to dissolve the Board of Medical Examiners.”

    And

    The Daily Mail item on CDC’s latest Christmas advice

    Plus other things

    https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/dissolve-it-sunday-december-10-2023?r=1vxw0k&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

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  • #
    David Maddison

    With Andrew Barr ACT Chief Minister only remaining

    The ACT is mostly full of public serpents. They would have supported the draconian lockups, loss of individual rights and NOT A SINGLE ONE lost a cent of pay, or their home like a lot of normal people did.

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  • #
    another ian

    In case you hadn’t noticed –

    Some figures on

    “Albanese’s inflation is out of control.”

    https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2023/12/albaneses-inflation-is-out-of-control.html

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    • #
      DOC

      The Reserve Bank sucks up cash out of the system to kill inflation and Albo keeps feeding funds back in to replace what the Reserve sucks up. That’s how stupid Chalmers and Albo and the Cabinet Members are.
      There doesn’t appear to be any Minister that makes sense of their portfolio. What does all this say about the full-time bureaucrats that advise them? Is the entire system run by kindergarten kids? Marles at least speaks sense to his portfolio, but either he thinks words are enough or he must be being rolled by Albo and Chalmers, this latter being the more likely. Another 12months of this lot minimum, is really scary.
      It’s apparent there is a huge division between the left and right with no meeting in the middle. The left have the numbers so it is useless to expect common sense. None of them appear to ever have run anything; it has all been about taking, and the bureaucrats they hire are all of the same ilk it seems.

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      • #
        KP

        “It’s apparent there is a huge division between the left and right ”

        Never! They all understand it is them against us, they retire to the bar in Parliament after a hard day’s acting and have a few laughs about how stupid we are! Anyone thinking the right-wing will be any different, or better, or more honest than those in power currently should step outside and sober up! It is the public versus the State in all its glory, best epitomised by the giant billboards of a cop in his shades and Gestapo-copy uniform aiming a radar gun at you and saying “We’re out to get you”… That is the State employee in a nutshell.

        Have a think… Would it be any different if China did run the country?? We have the Police attacking anyone who dares to think differently, we have a censored internet, we have the corrupt and useless politicians and coming up we have the internet ID license and the banning of all information that the Govt doesn’t like…

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  • #
    Steve of Cornubia

    Another nail in the EV coffin?

    A report today claims that EV buyers who financed their purchase using a “PCP’ loan, where the monthly payments are reduced but, at the end of the term, the borrower has to either pay the remainder or roll it into a new purchase/loan contract, are facing a depreciation time bomb. This is because the residual (balance owed) at the end of the term is initially calculated to equal the likely market value of the vehicle, more or less. However, EVs are now depreciating fast, much faster than their ICE equivalents. Essentially, since the real-world experiences of EV owners have become more widely known, the arse has fallen out of the 2nd hand market. Those PCP buyers find that there is a big difference in the amount owed, and the value of the car. They are left with a much smaller residual value to be rolled into a new loan. In some cases, the ‘loss’ can be GBP30K. Whoops.

    Have we reached a tipping point here? Bad news follows bad news and will precipitate a rush to sell EVs – something I believe has already started based on classified ads here in Oz and reports from America. I think this could get so bad that owners of used EVs are going to realise a very painful loss or even find they can’t offload the things at any price.

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      CO2 Lover

      This is a classic case of what happens when goverments attempt to “pick winners” and in this case “force winners”.

      The Model T ford was not a great success due to any government mandate.

      The Model T was a success since it provided a reliable car at an affordable price and the market responded.

      Apart from a few outliner areas such as Tasmania and Norway – EVs are replacing petrol powered cars with cars powered by coal!!!

      The initial hype about EVs has now been replaced by reality and the woke “early adhopters” have already bought their EV second car.

      The high cost of insurance and the high cost of replacement battery packs will put the average Jo and Joanne off buying an EV.

      Even hittinng a speed bump that only puts a dint in the battery pack can mean a complete replacement of the battery pack, since battery packs cannot be reliably repaired.

      Expect 2nd hand valuses to fall even more.

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      Old Goat

      Steve,
      I recently got an email from “Melbournes cheapest cars” advising that they were having a sale on EVs . Mostly Nissan “Leaf” in the 5 to 6 year range . There is a Leaf with 1966 Km on it and its a 2017 model . Byers regret coming….

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      another ian

      Not only EV’s

      Years ago some friends were staying at a motel and struck up a comversation with a bloke who was giving his new Volvo an early morning polish.

      Part of the conversation went like this –

      “How do you like the Volvo?”

      “I hate it”

      “Why?”

      ” I’d love to have something else but the only decent trade in is on another Volvo”

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      Graeme No.3

      Steve:
      And what happens if & when Bowen starts shutting down coal and gas power stations?
      Do the EV owners have to install a diesel generator?

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      John Hultquist

      Over many years of ownership, my auto batteries – the old fashioned type and a small percentage of the total cost – tended to last 5 to 7 years. The expected time varied by price so the choice could depend on how much cash you had when you needing a new one. It has been wise to note the first signs of a weak battery and replace before you are stranded miles from a town.
      One doesn’t have to be brilliant to understand that EV batteries will have a life-time, and being the most costly part of the vehicle there is a “cliff” ahead that everyone will tumble down.

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    How much does a HELI Coal fired power station cost?

    The giant Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project in the Kosciuszko national park, first touted by the Turnbull government in 2017 as costing $2bn, was later revised to a cost of $5.9bn. That tally, though, has escalated to $12bn, with that estimate contingent on completion by the end of 2028.

    This does not include the cost of extra transmission lines – so make the total around $15 Bilion AUD. Then add in the cost of the extra solar and wind required to pump water up hill to “recharge” Snowy 2.0

    Snowy 2.0 will provide an additional peak 2.2 GW of dispatchable, on-demand generating capacity

    Meanwhile China is permitting two new coal-fired power stations EVERY WEEK.

    This is a typical case – The eastern Chinese coastal province of Zhejiang has approved the construction of a new 7 billion yuan (US$1.10 billion) coal-fired power plant with 2 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity.

    Australia has 12 coal fired power stations with a capacity grerater than 1 GW (with a combined capacity of 20 GW).

    These could be replaced with 10 new coal fired 2 GW powerstations (Made in China) for a total cost of around $16 Billion AUD, with no new power lines required.

    This puts the folly of Snowy 2.0 into some perspective.

    The cost of a giant “water battery” (with a peak output of one coal fired power station) will likely to be more than 10 new HELI coal fired power stations!

    Also expect more cost blow outs for Snowy 2.0 before the expected completion in 2028 if it is not cancelled altogether.

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      David Maddison

      The cost of a coal power station in Australia would be massively inflated by feral unions, over-regulation and years or decades getting planning approvals with associated litigation.

      The only “big” projects it’s possible to do in Australia now are massively overpriced “green” ones for which cost is not a consideration and they get instant approval and the subsidy harvesters are happy. Indeed the ONLY reason for building these things is to harvest subsidies.

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      Graeme No.3

      A few years ago I checked this and found that Vietnam had installed 2 coal fired stations at $2.2 million each, whereas the likely cost in Australia was $4.5-4.7 million. I assume that our costs will have INFLATED even further.

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    another ian

    FWIW on the current “Harvard Saga” –

    “More: Claudine Gay first came to my attention about a month ago, when she emerged as the central figure in the Ryan Enos data fabrication scandal, as documented in these 3 articles… ”

    https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2023/12/10/if-women-ran-the-world-48/

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  • #
    Peter C

    Cyclone Jasper appears to be weakening!

    Maybe not the Climate Change event that the BOM would like it to be.
    JCU may have to change their pre prepared press release about catastrophic damage to the reef.

    Conditions at Willis Is.
    http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ60801/IDQ60801.94299.shtml

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      Broadie

      Certainly coping a flogging on Willis!
      Gusts to 43 knots and the barometric pressure over a 1000 psi.
      I hope the Meteorologists are curled up together in a cosy shelter.
      Nah! probably Kite Surfing.

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      • #
        Ronin

        “barometric pressure over a 1000 psi”

        Now THAT’S a high.

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          Broadie

          OOPS!
          Must correct errors mmHg not PSI. The mistake actually occurred to me in the car yesterday so I was revisiting my post to correct the error. Thanks Ronin and yes it would have been crushing.

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    • #
      Greg in NZ

      The slowest and most indecisive tropical storm EVAH!

      Will it? Won’t it? Could possibly might, says The Science™.

      If only Coral Sea SSTs were a little bit warmer… except once Jasper does move on, they’ll even be a little bit cooler.

      Unless, Jasper is transitioning into Jasperina?

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        Steve of Cornubia

        The storm cell is just stumbling around, as though it doesn’t know which way to go. Should have been called Cyclone Biden.

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        el+gordo

        Global warming not only produces fewer tropical cyclones, but also makes them less intense.

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        Hanrahan

        Slow moving cyclones weaken as the rain and cloud cover cool the water under them, and this IS early in the season.

        But it has given the news services some headlines.

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      Leo G

      The BoM’s latest Mean Sea-Level Pressure Analysis and Infrared Greyscale Satellite map indicates a central pressure of 990 HPa and speed of 10Kt toward the Queensland coast.
      Curious thing though- the chart was issued 6:50 am EDT Monday on 11 December 2023 but the photo image includes a production time of 0117 UTC 11 Dec 2023 for data valid as at 0000 UTC.
      Current map image: http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/synoptic_col_satellite.shtml

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        Peter C

        Lihou Reef Lighthouse seems to be in the path of the Storm.
        However it looks like the so called Cyclone has passed by about 9pm last night, without getting near category 1 wind speeds.
        http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ60801/IDQ60801.94293.shtml

        10/09:08pm – – – – – SSW 57 113 31 61 984.7 984.6

        The maximum recorded gust was 113kph (61kts) and the maximum sustained wind speed was 57kph (31kts).

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          Peter C

          I just took another look at the recordings from the Lihou Reef Lighthouse.
          The eye of the storm seems to have passed almost directly above the Lighthouse. The wind speed dropped to just 6kph at 11:30pm and the minimum pressure was 983.3hPa at 11:00pm.

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      Peter C

      Looks like TC Jasper (a category 1 cyclone) is now approaching Flinders reef. It should pass over this evening.

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    • #
      Peter C

      TC Jasper seems to be midway between Holmes Reef and Flinders Reef.
      Moving slowly westward.
      http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/observations/map.shtml

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    CO2 Lover

    Meanwhile in Indonesia – China Builds Coal Fired Power stations!

    Via its Belt and Road initiative, China was for many years by far the largest financier of new coal power plants worldwide – until Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, told the UN General Assembly in September 2021 that China would build “no new coal power plants abroad”. There have been loopholes, however, that have enable China to finance the construction of some coal-fired plants that power industrial facilities rather than the national grid. These are known as “captive” power plants.

    China-backed captive power plants are a particularly significant phenomenon in Indonesia. The country uses captive coal power to smelt nickel, a metal central to the production of batteries used in electric vehicles. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel. A 2020 ban in Indonesia on the export of unprocessed nickel ore, designed to maximise the value of Indonesian nickel within Indonesia itself, has further increased demand in the country for nickel smelters powered by captive coal power plants.

    Meanwhile in Australia taxpayer subsidies are provided to the wealthy woke to encourage them to buy these electric vehicles!

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      David Maddison

      Australia could solve it’s energy crisis by laying a cable from Indonesia to the nearest point on the east coast grid of Australia and importing coal-produced electricity from Chinese made power stations in Indonesia.

      It would still be cheaper and more reliable than wind, solar, big batteries and SH2, even given the billions it would cost to build the cable.

      And Indonesia has no CO2 emissions limits. They could supply all the electricity Australia needs (except for WA, a cable there might be too long and too expensive).

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        CO2 Lover

        There was a plan to send electricity from Australia to Indonesia!

        The Australia–Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) was a proposed electricity infrastructure project that was planned to include the world’s largest solar plant, the world’s largest battery, and the world’s longest submarine power cable.

        Initial plans forecast that a new solar farm in the Northern Territory of Australia would produce up to 20 gigawatts of electricity, most of which would be exported to Singapore, and at a later point Indonesia, by a 4,500 km (2,800 mi) 3 GW HVDC transmission line. A large battery would store energy in order to level energy availability as sunlight varies throughout the day. AAPowerLink was developed by an Australian company Sun Cable, initially backed by Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brookes. It was projected to begin construction in mid-2023.

        The project collapsed in January 2023, after Sun Cable was placed into voluntary administration following a disagreement between Forrest and Cannon-Brookes about the need to put more funding into the venture.

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          Graeme#4

          There still is a plan. Cannon-Brookes still claims that it’s feasible. But there is no indication that Singapore wants to buy any of the offered power.

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            Graeme#4
            December 11, 2023 at 8:53 am · Reply
            There still is a plan. Cannon-Brookes still claims that it’s feasible. But there is no indication that Singapore wants to buy any of the offered power.

            …. And i am sure it will proceed in some form…if only because of the sizeable grants that will be available !
            But it will probably end up as a revised , downsized, plan to only send power to Darwin /Alice etc.
            Theywill probably go for the “Hydrogen project” grants as that was also in the original “Sun Cable” proposal .

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              Graeme#4

              Darwin doesn’t need the power. And there are already two NT solar still waiting to be connected to the grid. Besides, I believe Darwin has access to cheap gas for energy.

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          • #
            Russell

            So running thousands of kilometres of cable across what is one of the world’s most active volcanic/tectonic zones is a guaranteed winner, right?

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            • #
              robert rosicka

              Just Google the earthquake that hit the Tennant Creek region I think in the 1980’s , the gas line running north south was a twisted mess .

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        • #
          David Maddison

          Export of solar was never going to work (without taxpayer subsidies). It doesn’t even work for local consumption. But import of coal-produced electricity from a country that is sensible and happy to use coal (or nuclear) could potentially work if the only other alternative is solar, wind and big batteries in Australia.

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          Kim

          The transmission lines losses would have been massive.

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          Ronin

          ” A large battery would store energy in order to level energy availability as sunlight varies throughout the day.”

          Is that what is euphemistically known as ‘night time’.

          50

  • #
    Greg in NZ

    Sung to the tune ‘Israelites’ by Desmond Dekker and the Aces (1969)

    I get up in d’ mornin’
    slavin’ for COP sir,
    so their every mouth can be fed,
    poor poor me, the Coprolites.

    Me wife ‘n’ me kids
    starvin’ for meat sir,
    while the richies shove food in their head,
    poor poor me, the Coprolites.

    They fly in on a jet
    livin’ in luxury,
    while me babies are sleepin’ on d’ floor,
    poor poor me, the Coprolites.

    Me diggin’ in a ground
    walkin’ on bare feet,
    while the richies are cryin’ out for more,
    poor poor me, the Coprolites.

    EQUITY™ – it’s a $666 trillion game!

    NB. Rhymes inspired by Ruairi.

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    robert rosicka

    According to the ABC we don’t need to go nuclear to keep the lights on when there’s no wind or solar , they have just discovered bird fryers .

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      • #
        Greg in NZ

        565 degrees Celsius, and as large as “6,200 football fields”?

        What happened to ‘as large as ACT’ or ‘the size of Belgium / Wales’ or ‘as big as the Larsen B iceberg’? Can’t these environment-destroying planet-saviours stick to measurements we’re all familiar with? I mean: American football? Rugby football? Real original football? ⚽️

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        robert rosicka

        Yep that’s the one David .

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          robert rosicka

          And I love the claim of 24/7 power which later gets to maybe 15 hours , not to mention these plants need gas burners I thought.
          Add that to an overcast week with little wind and bugger all solar it’s no wonder it’s a tribute to green boondoggle dumb ideas .

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      • #

        I hope they remembered and learnt from all those previous similar “Thermal Solar” plants that have failed to meet expectations in the past…including the aborted Port Augusta “Aroara “ project in SA,
        The generation cost per MWh is one of the highest of all commercial methods.

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        Saw that this morning, cost US$3.5b ie A$5b, then add 50% for WH&S and the unions. Hardly vaalue.

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        • #

          Yes, and they make a big deal of the “17 hours” of storage …
          …. But just one sunless day,…and its just dead metal, NBG, Sweet FA, Nada !..power
          …..in Australia, we have our own version , using different tech,.
          A clever twist on the theme, but ultimately, when the sun dont shine ,…the lights go out !
          https://raygen.com/carwarp/

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          robert rosicka

          Hanrahan 50% ? Come on this is Oz if they say $3 billion we know it will be north off $12 billion .

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      • #
        skepticynic

        Wasn’t one of these US installations recently destroyed by a mega-hailstorm?

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      Ronin

      Just have a look online for all the troubles the yanks have had with them, Solyndra is one, in the desert.

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    CO2 Lover

    How much is a 2nd hand EV be worth?

    There is a 1926 Model T Ford for sale in Victoria for $29,000 – which is greater than the cost of many new cars!

    How much will an EV be worth when its battery warrantee expires after 8 years?

    Who will want a 10 year old EV let alone one 100 years old?

    I have a 10 year old Toyota Yaris which is now worth more than the $16,500 I paid when new. Only takes a new minutes to refill and not an hour or more to recharge!

    ICEs will still be around for a long time.

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      Konrad

      I too expect ICE vehicles to be in use for decades to come.

      My reasoning for buying a 4×4 diesel ute:

      1 – It can if needed run on preheated vegetable oil.

      2 – It is a commercial vehicle. Trade vehicles cannot easily be mandated to be electric as the battery pack destroys payload capacity.

      3 – Diesel fuel must remain available for decades. Too much construction machinery, heavy trucking and farming machinery depends on this fuel. Stop diesel and Australia stops working.

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      • #
        Steve of Cornubia

        “Diesel fuel must remain available for decades. Too much construction machinery, heavy trucking and farming machinery depends on this fuel. Stop diesel and Australia stops working.”

        That’s my thinking too. I have always liked diesels, for their economy and torque. Went off them more recently due to all the DPF nonsense, but folks seem to be getting on top of that (just take it for a long drive now and then). I am very tempted by the new Mahindra Scorpio 4×4 SUV. I like Mahindra’s brand values and they have a solid reputation with farmers etc, though that’s for their more basic workhorses and commercial products. The Scorpio is fantastic value and a very attractive blend of off road and on road capability at a great price, let down by various electrical gremlins at present. I hope they will introduce a MKII at some point, with the electronics wrinkles ironed out, then I’ll take another look.

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        • #
          Konrad

          Advice: buy Toyota hilux pre 2009. Go for low Kms. The engine is good for 500,000 Km, and the electronics are OK for dual fuel conversion.

          Always 4×4. Always diesal. Never trust the “elite” who promoted the toxic jabs to maintain the roads between “15 minute cities”.

          Mr. Diesel designed his engine to be multi fueled. You should trust engineers, not politicians, Big Harma or those frantically copulating with “Nude Green Eles”.

          If you choose a post 2009 diesel, you only get benifits 2 & 3, not 1. Choose wisely. …

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        DOC

        Imagine depending on an EV in the country to get away from a fire or flood. You’d be too scared to take it off the charger and you’d need your independent of grid means of charging. Then the car has to have the distance, ability to cross shallow water and hope the batteries are well insulated from the heat. They are very versatile creatures these EVs!

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      Graeme No.3

      Try Youtube where there are enthusiasts regarding new developments in batteries e.g. The Electric Viking (others are even worse).

      The fundamental problem is that the more chemical energy you force into a battery, the worse the disaster when it comes.

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        CO2 Lover

        Also the larger the battery pack the worse the disaster when it comes – example the cement truck in Melbourne that had a thermal run away.

        Also trucks will have more vibration than a car which is more likely to spark a thermal runaway.

        As the saying goes “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”.

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      Ronin

      “Who will want a 10 year old EV let alone one 100 years old?”

      Who would want even a 5 year old EV, certainly not me.

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    • #

      How much will an EV be worth when its battery warrantee expires after 8 years?…..

      No less than a 8 year old Camry with a siezed motor..which any half decent mechanic can strip and fix, or replace the motor with a rebuilt one !
      But in 8 years time there will be a similar industry in replacing / swoping/ repairing, EV battery packs……infact there already are in the USA, and one or two in Au also.
      A defective EV battery pack has a significant market value for reuse in home storage

      “I have a 10 year old Toyota Yaris which is now worth more than the $16,500 I paid when new…”
      .. really ? , i didnt know they offered a gold plated version !

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    From today’s Sydney Telegraph:

    Rise of the doomsday prophets as cults sweep Australia.
    Fundamentalist Christian cults have seized on the Covid pandemic to target vulnerable people, using it to support apocalyptic prophecies, a renowned cult expert says.”

    Edited version:

    Rise of the doomsday prophets as cults sweep Australia.
    Fundamentalist Rewenewables cults have seized on the Climate Alarmism pandemic/neurosis to target vulnerable people, using it to support apocalyptic prophecies, a renowned cult expert says.”

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      Konrad

      I wonder if this “renowned cult expert” has any comment on Branch Covidians getting tattoos of bandaids on their arms after multiple injections of DNA contaminated cool-aid. I certainly sensed a certain Jim Jones vibe …

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      John Connor II

      Can anyone name one single prophecy from any religion ever that’s come true?
      If they weren’t brainwashed as children, religions would all be long gone and (bought) science would reign.

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    David Maddison

    This story is from 2021 but did you know you could get euthanised for having covid in New Zealand?

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/new-zealand-government-approves-euthanasia-covid-patients/

    The government in New Zealand has approved euthanasia for COVID patients if doctors decide that they are unlikely to survive.

    The Ministry of Health determined that people have a “right” to die by lethal injection.

    New Zealand claimed that “in some circumstances a person with COVID-19 may be eligible for assisted dying,” according to a report from the Catholic Herald. In 2019, they had passed the End of Life Choice Act, which is one of the most extreme euthanasia laws on the planet.

    SEE LINK FOR REST

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    Penguinite

    Labor Loons and Lefty MSM Strike Again!

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/daily-cartoon/image-gallery/2403b703a84c4deb3bbc4247796b447f

    https://richardsonpost.com/cliff-reece/34036/albanese-and-his-incompetent-misfit-ministers/

    At least Annastacia Palaszczuk went while she still had the choice. But make no mistake: she didn’t want to go. She was put on notice by the only people capable of getting through to her. Her achievements over nearly 10 years are Nett Zero

    Media cannot ignore facts on fossil fuels
    The failure of some journalists to report what is really happening globally in fossil fuel consumption and renewable energy generation is a scandal.

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  • #
    STJOHNOFGRAFTON

    Here’s a hard hitting reality cartoon from After Math showing John Kerry laying down the dogma about coal-fired base-load electricity:
    https://www.terrellaftermath.com/uploads/1/0/9/4/109471485/chinacoalkerry2webcr-12-6-23.jpg

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    John Connor II

    WEF warns 2024 likely to bring ‘catastrophic’ cyber event

    The year 2023 was no cakewalk, for sure, but it could very well be the last year in which we enjoyed a semblance of normalcy. There was no pandemic. War broke out but it didn’t come to our shores. Our paper money still buys food for our Christmas table and energy to heat our homes, even if it’s more expensive than in previous years. The fact that this worthless fiat paper is still capable of being traded for food, shelter and other hard assets is a blessing that might not be available to us one year from now. You might want to take full advantage of this while you can.

    Jeremy Jurgens, the managing director of the World Economic Forum, stated at the WEF’s annual summit in January 2023 that a disrupting cyber event would likely take place before 2025. Well, 2023 has come and gone and we have not seen any debilitating cyber event. If Jurgens’ prediction proves accurate, then that would leave 2024 as the year for this horrific event to go down, because it would need to happen before 2025.

    Klaus Schwab himself, the top dog at the WEF, warned a couple of years ago about a coming major cyber attack that will make Covid look like “a small disturbance,” shutting down the power grid, which would upend the communications, transportation, banking and healthcare sectors.

    https://leohohmann.com/2023/12/10/wef-warns-2024-likely-to-bring-catastrophic-cyber-event/#more-16856

    With (cannon fodder) Ukraine beaten and sobbing and the west’s funds drying up, a number of key elections in 2024, and major defaults looming early 2025, a major cyber event is HIGHLY likely in my opinion. I could be wrong (lol), so be sure to listen to CNN too for advanced warning (as if 😆).
    I post around 0.1% of cyberevents that I see, and it’s a horror show out there, so don’t say you weren’t warned.
    Cupboards full and some folding stuff.

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    Vladimir

    Dear learned contributors!

    Does anyone already run a comparison of BOM of short-term weather predictions against the actual data reported by themselves some hours later.

    I appreciate it is difficult to tabulate colour coded maps and emotional descriptions of expected daily catastrophe. Yet it seems to be easy to get the vector and the amplitude of their error, without having accurate instruments in right spot, etc,.. a different project of course.

    I volunteer to participate in such scheme, if such exist.

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    John Connor II

    The Unvaccinated Were Scapegoated for Failure of COVID Vaccines, Study Finds

    “My colleagues and I have been studying the social divisions surrounding COVID-19 for some time. We have noticed that much of the existing research at that time focused on conflicts originating from people who discount COVID-19, believe in conspiracy theories, and generally undervalue the threat of the virus. We replicated many of those patterns in our own research as well,” said study author Maja Graso, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen.

    The authors seem to be shocked by their discovery that much of the lies and misinformation came from the government and media.

    The scientific study by Maja Graso et al. examined attitudes toward unvaccinated people by presenting a questionnaire with fictional characters: a vaccinated person named Katy and an unvaccinated person named Mark. Both Katy and Mark carried the COVID-19 virus and infected a vulnerable individual.

    It turns out that, despite being in the identical position, the unvaccinated individual was selected for blame and targeted with extremely negative emotions.

    https://www.igor-chudov.com/p/the-unvaccinated-were-unfairly-scapegoated

    Modern day witch burning rules!
    “Mistakes were made on both sides”.
    Nope. Just one…

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    • #
      Honk R Smith

      I live amongst them.
      Here is the logic thread.*

      Climate Change is settled Science.
      Science must be followed.
      The vaccine is Science.
      The Unvaccinated are refusing to ‘Follow The Science’.
      Therefore and ergo …

      the Unvaccinated are causing Climate Change. (1)
      (It was a Pandemic of the Unvaccinated.)

      And Trump. (2)

      (1) Jokes aside … aren’t we already there?
      (2) Any discussion with them always ends with vague ranting about Trump.

      *Again … foreseen in The Prophecies.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf71YotfykQ

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        Steve of Cornubia

        For amusement, I sometimes watch YouTube reels where some guy or gal asks a lefty to explain why they prefer Biden over Trump, why they don’t like Trump or why they support trans women in female sports. They spout the usual nonsense, lies and fabrications but, when the ‘interviewer’ calmly demolishes their positions one by one or combats those lies with facts and data, the lefty usually walks away hurling insults. There is NEVER a rational basis for their views and they NEVER agree to debate them in a reasonable manner, once they realise they’re losing.

        It’s like debating with a five year old, but with face furniture and expletives.

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      Being retired at the time and not able to be bullied, I did not take the Jabs/Boosters. Any negative comments made towards me were like water off a duck’s back. And I knew full well that I was right not to take the poisons.

      And I am even ‘righter’ now.

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      • #
        KP

        Amazing how people can readily accept so many people dying of turbo cancers and heart attacks as ‘normal’… The chance of it being something to do with the vaccine just never enters their heads, and they don’t want to know about the excess deaths these days.

        I think that’s why those in power will brazen it out and deny there is anything wrong with the vaccines, while still throwing shit around wildly against those who question their authority and competence. I can’t see there being a day or reckoning.

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    John Connor II

    Catching A Cold Might Prevent A Severe Case Of COVID-19

    Scientists have puzzled over why some people seem immune to COVID-19, even after exposure. Now, emerging evidence points to an intriguing explanation: prior run-ins with the common cold.

    A new study investigated whether preexisting antibodies from common cold viruses offered protection against COVID-19. Researchers analyzed blood samples from 94 unvaccinated hospitalized patients with varying severity of respiratory failure; 74 had tested positive for COVID-19, while 20 didn’t have the infection.

    They measured levels of antibodies from prior common cold coronavirus infections. The same analysis was done for non-COVID-19 patients as controls.

    There was a positive correlation between common cold antibody levels and COVID-19-specific antibodies. Higher common cold antibody levels in the control patients suggested a potentially protective effect against COVID-19 severity.

    The concept of “original antigenic sin” (OAS) was first coined in the 1960s. It refers to how initial flu exposures shape immunity against later, related strains, sometimes trapping the immune system in a way that leaves it unable to adapt to new variants of a virus. This can leave people more vulnerable to a given virus.

    Since then, research has shown these original imprints can influence susceptibility to other infections.

    This phenomenon may also apply to COVID-19 and common colds, Dr. Thomas Gut, an internal medicine doctor with the Post-COVID Recovery Center at Staten Island University Hospital, told The Epoch Times.

    https://principia-scientific.com/catching-a-cold-might-prevent-a-severe-case-of-covid-19/

    Dr. Tom Gut, internal medicine.
    How the name matches the career! 😁
    Another reason not to have a flu shot.

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      Vicki

      Too bad that we were forced into isolation during those Covid years – particularly children who are the incubators for these common viruses.

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    Vaccines Can Be an Undisclosed Risk

    “A 15-month-old healthy girl was given three vaccines at the same time and died two days later. When you get some prescribed drug from your doctor, there is a warning: do not take it with something else. That is what is missing with vaccines. One of my employees cannot take any vaccine. His entire family gets violently ill just taking a flu vaccine. We are not all the same. I was vaccinated, and so were my children. I do not recall getting three all at the same time. They do not come with any warning label that a parent gets to read.

    The problem is that our pretend “representatives” have given 100% immunity to drug companies. Why? They paid them off. If an auto company had 1 in 100 cars blow up when you turned it on but could NEVER be sued, why fix anything? Go 10 miles over the speed limit, and they fine you to teach you a lesson. They do not do the same to their favorite supporters – drug companies and bankers. Any politician who voted for that should be driven from office and held responsible for conspiracy to violate human rights.

    I would not allow my children to be vaccinated with multiple vaccines all at the same time.

    But I am not a doctor. Just my GUT FEELING!”

    https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/vaccine/vaccines-can-be-an-undisclosed-risk/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS

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      Johnny Rotten
      December 11, 2023 at 11:21 am · Reply
      Vaccines Can Be an Undisclosed Risk

      “A 15-month-old healthy girl was given three vaccines at the same time and died two days later

      ?MMR, tri vaccine ? ..That is routinely given to all todlers.

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    naturelike

    “[Adviser to the President, Special Presidential Representative on Climate Issues] Ruslan Edelgeriyev read Russia’s national statement at United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties

    We intend to make maximum use of our potential in implementing ecosystem projects, nature-like technologies and other nature-based solutions that contribute several Sustainable Development Goals at the same time.[…]

    Draft Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On the Strategy for the development of nature-like (convergent) technologies” (June 14, 2022) …->

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    David Maddison

    Does anyone have any experience or comments on the latest version of covid “vaccine”, now being forced into elderly people in Australia? It became available today.

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      Dennis

      I recently visited my GP of many years and he did not mention vaccine.

      However, in October I had a venesection at that surgery and the nurse asked me if I wanted a vaccination boost and when I declined she said no more.

      And I still have AF (atrial fibrillation) occurring about 5 in every 30 blood pressure readings on my monitor that began after the initial COVID-19 vaccinations.

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    Dennis

    The COP year propaganda is very annoying, the weather app on my mobile phone has a red alert about “severe heatwave watch” and it has been appearing for several days.

    But no heatwave here yet.

    At 2 pm it is 27 deg C according to the app, but my 4WD temperature gauge was 23 deg C around midday, Mid Coast NSW, gentle cool sea breeze (water calm not boiling – sarc).

    I mowed the lawns yesterday most of the morning and again a sea breeze and pleasant, normal December summer weather here.

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    John Connor II

    Hyundai unveils car tires with built-in, push-button snow chains

    Hyundai has presented a new wheel and tire design that incorporates built-in snow chains that deploy and retract at the push of a button, potentially putting an end to the fiddly, freezing process of wrapping and removing traditional snow chains.

    Each of the tires will have six indented grooves across it, in line with the wheel’s six spokes. Inside these grooves live thick snow chain-like wires, retracted well back into the tread.

    These are partially made using compressed shape memory alloys, which can be activated and expanded when an electric current is sent through them. So when the road starts looking sketchy, or the law requires snow chains, it’s a simple matter of pressing a button. The shape memory alloy reverts to its original shape, pushing the wire loop up above the level of the tread.

    https://www.hyundainews.com/en-us/releases/4019

    Haven’t they heard? Snow is a thing of the past.
    Their time would be better spent on fixing their engineering problems, like oil consumption, blown engines, exploding sunroofs…

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      Dennis

      I sighted an older model on a road in Darwin, the brand sign had been modified to “UDAI”.

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      Russell

      Indeed they (Hyundai) would be better employed fixing past mistakes. I have a, now, nine years old i30 1800cc “Nu” engine that sounds like it will drop out of the car any time. The 2 litre “Nu” engine version is part of the class action that is currently running against Hyundai but, for some reason, the 1800cc version, despite the problem being identical to the 2 litre one, isn’t included in the class action – resulting in roughly a $10k loss in the value of the car.

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      • #

        Pick any car brand……Ford, GM, Toyota, VW, JLR, KIA, Mitsubishi, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, etc etc
        …and you will find major issues involving recalls, law suits, “Lemon” awards, low JD Powers scores, etc etc.
        The auto industry has a very low customer satisfaction rating in the world of independent reviewers.

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    John Connor II

    DNA-folding nanorobots can manufacture limitless copies of themselves

    Researchers have demonstrated a programmable nano-scale robot, made from a few strands of DNA, that’s capable of grabbing other snippets of DNA, and positioning them together to manufacture new UV-welded nano-machines – including copies of itself.

    The robots, according to New Scientist, are created using just four strands of DNA, and measure just 100 nanometers across, so about a thousand of them could squeeze up into a line the width of a human hair.

    The team, from New York University, the Ningbo Cixi Institute of Biomechanical Engineering, and The Chinese Academy of Sciences, says the robots surpass previous efforts, which were only able to assemble pieces into two-dimensional shapes. The new bots are able to use “multiple-axis precise folding and positioning” to “access the third dimension and more degrees of freedom.”

    These nano-bots are often viewed as potential ways of manufacturing drugs, enzymes and other chemicals, potentially inside the cells of the body. But the researchers specifically call out the fact that these machines can “self-replicate its entire 3D structure and functions.”

    https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.adf1274

    Can’t wait for the self-assembling nanotech vaxx pseudo scientists to latch onto this one…

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      Old Goat

      John,
      Their called “Von Neuman machines” and have been used in science fiction stories for years . Self replicating machines – not as good as the organic ones though….

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    David Maddison

    Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia cofounder, has been sending me emails begging for money for Wikipedia.

    Sorry Jimmy, Wikipedia started out wonderfully as a repository of all human knowledge.

    Then the Left infiltrated, took over, and inserted their political biases into large numbers of articles. And furthermore, locked out conservative-oriented editors.

    Quoting the other cofounder of Wikipedia, Larry Sanger on Wikipedia (entry on “Larry Sanger”).:

    In a blog post in May 2020, Sanger described Wikipedia as “badly biased” and as favoring left-wing and liberal politics. In his opinion, portions of the Donald Trump Wikipedia article are “unrelentingly negative”, while the Barack Obama article “completely fails to mention many well-known scandals”. He listed other topics he argued are presented with a liberal and left-wing bias, including the topics on Hillary Clinton, abortion, drug legalization, religion, and LGBT adoption. In particular, Sanger said that Wikipedia, in describing many of Trump’s statements as “false”, established the website’s biases. Sanger commented in the blog post: “It is time for Wikipedia to come clean and admit that it has abandoned NPOV (i.e., neutrality as a policy).” Regarding Wikipedia’s current neutrality policy, Sanger said that “it endorses the utterly bankrupt canard of journalistic ‘false balance’, which is directly contradictory to the original neutrality policy. As a result, even as journalists turn to opinion and activism, Wikipedia now touts controversial points of view on politics, religion, and science”.

    In a February 2021 interview with Fox News, Sanger stated that Wikipedia’s “ideological and religious bias is real and troubling, particularly in a resource that continues to be treated by many as an unbiased reference work”. In a February 2021 interview with Carrie Sheffield on Pluto TV, Sanger criticized Wikipedia’s coverage of socialism, saying that “when schoolkids go, and they look up answers to questions about the meaning of ‘socialism’ … they’re going to find an explanation that completely ignores any conservative, libertarian, or critical treatment of the subject”, “And that’s really problematic. That’s not education. That’s propaganda.” He claimed that Wikipedia was originally “committed to neutrality” until “about 10 years ago” when “liberals or leftists made their march through the institutions … and basically took [Wikipedia] over”, adding that “They started getting rid of citations from conservative sources, even conservative sources that were cited in order to explain the conservative point of view. At least in some cases, that was the case, and more and more, certain points of view were castigated and labeled”. When asked about Wikipedia’s reaction to his criticism, Sanger said that “They ignore me” and that “They don’t care what I say, and the feeling is mutual.”

    It is now run by Leftists and as President Trump said “everything woke turns to sh-t”.

    Sorry Jimmy, no more money from me.

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      CO2 Lover

      Yes – I was once a big fan of Wikipedia and my then 10 year old daughter once got an award for an article she wrote on the eye colours of cats.

      But no more – Wikipedia has been destroyed by the woke left.

      So sad

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      Peter C

      I agree completely.
      I have donated to Wikipaedia a few times in the past until I became aware of their bias.
      I will not doante again until that is clearly corrected.

      BTW, have you noticed that Wikipaedia is promoted by Google and is almost always the first reference provided for any search?

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    John Connor II

    Monday entertainment: Councils have no authority to impose fines/taxes

    Interesting reading:

    The Parliament can not constitutionally put legislation together nor can it Empower others to make laws or collect tax (see our 1901 Constitution Section 51(xxxi) ).

    The States only exist after Federation subject to the Commonwealth Constitution as does their constitution Reference 106, 107, 108 and 109 of the Commonwealth Constitution.

    The High Court has determined these issues in HCA 48 of 1996 James Andrew McGinty v The State of Western Australia and HCA 58 of 1999 Fejo v Northern Territory Government.

    Both cases explain Our Authority over Our Land and how it is owned and controlled by us. NO GOVERNMENT HAS ANY AUTHORITY IN RELATION TO YOUR LAND. NOR CAN THEY GET IT WITHOUT #FRAUD AND #STEALING.

    https://cirnow.com.au/councils-are-not-government/

    I am a former member of the High Court and I wish to take this unusual method of informing you about a matter that is going to deeply affect us all. Unfortunately, a document such as this is too easily “lost” in the bureaucratic jungle in which we operate.

    These are photocopies of all documents, correspondence etc., between the states and later the Commonwealth of Australia, the British Crown and the British Government. They are very revealing documents and indicate the degree of chicanery in which the politicians of all shades were involved and as I can now see, at the expense of the legal academe and the judiciary. I present for your perusal the details of the group’s presentation along with my comment on each major item. The group relies solely upon historical fact and rejects political rhetoric and legal opinion unless based upon historical fact.

    I therefore have come to the conclusion that the current legal and political system in use in Australia and its States and Territories has no basis in law.

    https://cirnow.com.au/copy-of-letter-from-sir-harry/

    Did you know that Section 8, sub-section 12 of the Imperial Acts Application Act dictates that “All promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void”? Quite simply, that means that, until you have been convicted of something by a court of competent jurisdiction, ALL fines are illegal.

    https://www.knowyourrightsgroup.com.au/fines/

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    John Connor II

    Monday entertainment: when Vietnam vet chopper pilot grandpa plays War Thunder

    https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_s5515kMtOs1a8uj3g_720.mp4

    Rambo thousand yard stare. He’s good!
    Never mess with old people, you’re gunna lose.
    Life in prison is no deterrent. 😎😎

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      Dennis

      NAP of the Earth flying, I think it was developed for the A10 Warthog USAF jet attack aircraft that preceded attack helicopters and was a flying gun with armour piercing (depleted uranium) 20mm ammunition.

      Like a high speed crop dusting aircraft at near ground level flying.

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        Ronin

        30 mm, all the better.

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        Dennis

        I cannot find the video I watched some time ago of an A10 Warthog flying including beneath electrical transmission lines, inverting to fly “up” a hill and at the top back to normal flight to go down so that the pilot had a clear view of what was below on the ground, flying between trees, and many other nerves of steel required manoeuvres.

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      David Maddison

      The A-10 Warthog is one of America’s most effective weapons systems which is why Obama tried to have it withdrawn from service. Luckily his attempt failed.

      Here is a “Brrrt” compilation video as it puts that 30mm cannon to work.

      https://youtu.be/NvIJvPj_pjE

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    H P

    “Cupboards full, and folding stuff”-LOVE THIS !

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    David Maddison

    From the Office of the Texas Attorney General.

    Gosh, I wish Australia had some officials like this who actually cared.

    https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-pfizer-misrepresenting-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-and-conspiring

    November 30, 2023 | Press Release

    Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Sues Pfiz­er for Mis­rep­re­sent­ing COVID-19 Vac­cine Effi­ca­cy and Con­spir­ing to Cen­sor Pub­lic Discourse

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Pfizer, Inc., for unlawfully misrepresenting the effectiveness of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine and attempting to censor public discussion of the product.

    Pfizer engaged in false, deceptive, and misleading acts and practices by making unsupported claims regarding the company’s COVID-19 vaccine in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

    The pharmaceutical company’s widespread representation that its vaccine possessed 95% efficacy against infection was highly misleading. That metric represented a calculation of the so-called “relative risk reduction” for vaccinated individuals in Pfizer’s initial, two-month clinical trial results. FDA publications indicate “relative risk reduction” is a misleading statistic that “unduly influence[s]” consumer choice. Pfizer was also put on notice at that time that vaccine protection could not accurately be predicted beyond two months. Nevertheless, Pfizer fostered a misleading impression that vaccine protection was durable and withheld from the public information that undermined its claims about the duration of protection. And, despite the fact that its clinical trial failed to measure whether the vaccine protects against transmission, Pfizer embarked on a campaign to intimidate the public into getting the vaccine as a necessary measure to protect their loved ones.

    In fact, Pfizer’s product failed to live up to the company’s representations. COVID-19 cases increased after widespread vaccine administration, and some areas saw a greater percentage of deaths from COVID-19 among the vaccinated population than the unvaccinated. When the failure of its product became apparent, Pfizer then pivoted to silencing truth-tellers. The lawsuit notes: “How did Pfizer respond when it became apparent that its vaccine was failing and the viability of its cash cow was threatened? By intimidating those spreading the truth, and by conspiring to censor its critics. Pfizer labeled as ‘criminals’ those who spread facts about the vaccine. It accused them of spreading ‘misinformation.’ And it coerced social media platforms to silence prominent truth-tellers.”

    “We are pursuing justice for the people of Texas, many of whom were coerced by tyrannical vaccine mandates to take a defective product sold by lies,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The facts are clear. Pfizer did not tell the truth about their COVID-19 vaccines. Whereas the Biden Administration weaponized the pandemic to force illegal public health decrees on the public and enrich pharmaceutical companies, I will use every tool I have to protect our citizens who were misled and harmed by Pfizer’s actions.”

    The lawsuit follows Attorney General Paxton’s investigation into Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers announced earlier this year.

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      CO2 Lover

      At the very start of the phoney COVID pandemic I did my research and found the long criminal record of Pfizer.

      That was enough for me to avoid the EXPERIMENTAL Pfizer Death Jab.

      Unfortunnately many others made the mistake of trusting the Governments and the Main Stream Media.

      Those who were not killed by the Pfizer death jab now face an uncertain future.

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    David of Cooyal in Oz

    John Campbell has been sick for about a week. He talks about his symptoms, and thinks he’s through it now. 12 minutes.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc8L4BNm2RI

    I think if I’d been in his position I’d have – slightly – increased my vitamin D and cofactor intake for the duration, on the assumption that they are being used up during the fight. And taken a couple of IVM tabs if I still had some.

    Cheers
    Dave B

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    Kevin a

    Steve Kirsch’s talk at Andrew Bridgen’s hearing on COVID in the UK Parliament on Dec 4, 2023
    https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=664812439069170

    Barry Young has released the data showing 1000,s of people have been killed by the (moderated)
    Historical turning point in HISTORY

    20

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    another ian

    “New Ways for Selling More Vaccines”

    “The Grattan (‘We change the nation – for good’) Institute, has released a shallow, disingenuous report calling for the government to spend lots of money, because vaccination rates are not high enough, according to them.”

    More at

    https://catallaxy-files.com/new-ways-for-selling-more-vaccines/

    20

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    another ian

    Wider application than Houston (IMO)

    “The Man Who Beat Sheila Jackson Lee Adds Insult to Injury with Post-Victory Statement on His Defeated Opponent”

    “It’s high time the American government started working for Americans again, instead of focusing on itself.

    If it takes “sore winners” to be the agents of change for that, so be it.”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/man-beat-sheila-jackson-lee-adds-insult-injury/

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    another ian

    “DEVELOPING: Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo Confirms Detection of DNA Fragments in COVID mRNA Vaccines”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/developing-floridas-surgeon-general-joseph-ladapo-confirms-detection/

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