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
My estimate of the cost of back-up batteries to completely replace coal and gas for electrical power generation was A$10 Trillion
I renewables are the cheapest form of electricity as claimed by Chrisy Bowen and his mates at the CSIRO then why are taxpayer funded subsidies increasing?
This is still a long way short of funding A$6.3 Trillion for back-up batteries.
https://stopthesethings.com/2024/03/24/massive-wind-solar-subsidies-principal-cause-of-your-rocketing-power-bills/
140
What is your backup time duration calculated at, and why?
00
My estimation was based on a 99% reliabilty of supply, however that would still leave a major grid failure once in a hundred years which could occur at any time.
The cost of battery back up rises exponentially once you seek to achieve reliablity greater than around 90% or a major grid failure every 10 years.
10
99% reliability is ok – it’s close to the AEMO stated figure, but you haven’t mentioned the actual amount of backup hours, and how you determined this figure. FWIW, I believe that Menton’s figure is too high, but simultaneously, I believe that whatever figure GenCost used, and it’s not published, is way too low.
And I forgot to ask, where did the $9bn a year in subsidies quote come from? I’ve seen a previous figure of $7bn annually being quoted, but have not been able to determine the source of these quotes. I’m not questioning the amount – it seems correct, but still would be interested to establish the source of the figure.
20
Even a $1 Trillion will never be spent on batteries that many only be used 5% or less of the time to stop a major grid failure – so major grid failures will be a common occurance if all the coal fired power station now providing back-up are destroyed.
20
The Hornsdale battery is 194 MWh.
So 70,000 of those would be 13,600 GWh. Of storage.
With a average East coast grid demand of 550-600GWh per day, the implication is that the storage is calculated to allow 23-30 days of full battery supply !
..That does not seem to be “highly optomistic” , but rather a very pessimisitic outlook to expect up to a full month with no sun or wind across all of the Eastern half of the country. !
…. Cost wise, maybe they are being optomistic,..
…13,600 GW of batteries would likely cost much more than $6.3 tr, as the most recent costing ( $180m for 250MWh at Torrens Island BESS) , would suggest $720m per GWh, or $9.8Tr for that 13,600 GWh …….close to your own cost estimate.
00
Correction ..
It would seem likely that the Global Roam info of “70,000 Hornsdale batteries”, was based on old data of the original installation of 129 MWh capacity and $90 m costs,…..rather than the current system size (194 MWh)
Using that basis, 70,000 x 129 MWh, implies a total battery capacty of 9,030 GWh.,..giving a backup potential of 15+ days .
Much more realistic !
00
This is based on a very simplistic, unrealistic view.
There is a minimum system cost point based on the cost of solar (and/or wind) and storage. The analysis requires adding solar and wind over capacity while reducing battery capacity until the overall system cost is minimised.
My off-grid solar panels operate at a CF of 4%. At the time I built the system, that was the lowest cost point. The battery has capacity for 48 hours at average demand.
A 48 hour grid battery for the NEM would be around 960GWh; about 5,000 HPRs.
Solar panels away from the coast and optimised for June sunlight would achieve higher CFs and reduce the battery size. The analysis I did based on the actual June output of the Broken Hill solar farm resulted in a 240GW solar array and a 750GWh battery:
http://www.environment.gov.au/submissions/nem-review/willoughby.pdf
Australia could go solar/battery for around $1.2tr. That works out at $500k per person. . So along the way toward NetZero, all energy intensive industry leaves. All manufacturing leaves. Australia is left with some retail and households.
A household of 4 people can go off-grid for less than $50k; say $16,000 each. Assume same for the business they work in so $32k to go solar/battery at a local level.
The grid cannot support NutZero. It will deteriorate and become unmanageable causing those with access to their own capital to abandon the grid.
10
Ok – so what is your number?
00
As I wrote $1.2tr above.
00
But solar panels and batteries have a useful life of around 15 years – have you factored in replacement costs and the cost of disposal of the soalr panels and batteries?
00
I support Rick’s figure of 960 GWh. However, the dunkelflautes can last up to 48 hours, even though renewables wouldn’t drop completely to zero during that time. What then needs to be taken into account is the recharge time before the next dunkelflaute, major or minor. Given that dunkelflautes average almost one every three days, perhaps 48 hours reserve isn’t sufficient?
But I think Rick’s figure is closer to the mark.
00
😱 48 hours of backup would pretty much guarantee a total grid supply failure within the first year !😱😱
10
You might be correct, but I would welcome some data to backup the claim. We should be debating this issue to arrive at a reasonable figure.
00
I do have some problems with your off-grid figures Rick. You haven’t quote an expected reliability – I’m guessing that it’s below 90%, based on your data?
And surely the problem is that about every 10-15 years, you have to install a new battery bank.
You may have your reasons for operating off-grid and I’m sure that they would be valid, but for the average suburbanite, there is no way a battery-backed system could be considered from a financial viewpoint.
May I also comment on your CF of 4% – is that average over one year?
00
Just for general knowledge, Australia has spent (squandered) about $1.5Billion in aid to Ukraine in their effort to win an unwinnable war with Russia.
How many homeless crisis or crime problems here could that money have addressed?
40
Isis admit responsibility but is Putin determined to blame Ukraine?
https://gatesofvienna.net/2024/03/isis-vs-the-fsb-who-will-win/
Apparently 10% of the population of Russia is Muslim, many from the Fractious North Caucasas. A decade ago they had lots of trouble with Chechnya muslim terrorists and want to keep the new terrorists in check but also rely on them for manpower in unpopular jobs and of course are short of people due to military mobilisation.
63
It would be nice if the world was as tidily segmented as you want it to be.
32
Add this comment from Chiefio to the mix –
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/03/22/france-usa-out-russian-africa-corps-in/#comment-169569
Particularly this bit –
“How Ukraine became the unlikely home for Isis leaders escaping the caliphate
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isis-leaders-ukraine-tukey-syria-caliphate-al-bara-shishani-a9211676.html “
40
The best that article can manage is-
“The (ISIS) letter of responsibility alone is not a 100% reliable indication, but in conjunction with the other evidence, he thinks it is “pretty certain that it has something to do with IS,” ”
Of course it has something to do with ISIS, and that is sharing its generation by the USA! Were they Muslim terrorists?
Were they yelling Allah Akbar as they did it? No reports of that.
Did they fight to the death? Definitely not.
Were they doing it for religious reasons? No, they were paid $8000Au on a ruble debit card by people they never met.
Did they blow themselves up with explosives after the shooting? Definitely not, they wanted to escape to spend the money!
Where did they head for afterwards? Not Tajikistan, where they had passports for, but to Ukraine.
Did the article quote from a more disinterested country’s ‘terrorism expert’? No, it used the UK, most likely the people who had a hand it it with the Yanks.
So, it doesn’t look like an ISIS operation at all. It has the fingerprints of a messy CiA operation all over it. Like Nordsteam, we will never know the truth, but to allow ISIS to claim it is simplistic to the extreme.
92
Isis has plenty of terrorist activities that don’t involve sacrificing themselves. You really believe the UK govt paid 4 random people to enter Russia and indiscriminately kill 140 civilians? Russia has a number of active terrorist cells in various parts of their often very volatile regions. Pay back for Syria? Payback for Chechnya? Other volatile areas wanting to get rid of the Russians.
02
Total CNN style BS propaganda.
Absolutely not ISIS. ISIS are religious zealots and welcome death and their 7 raisins reward (lol), so they wouldn’t flee back to a pre-arranged escape path.
Try Ukraine and their western neocon masters and the CIA bunnies.
It was payback for Putin being re-elected.
The Cruise missile encroaching NATO territory was a “we know you’re behind it” message.
I hope everyone’s got some serious preps in place.
No, you haven’t have you…
31
The link title says it all with a notable increase in cancers in people under 45
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/03/24/doctors-warn-of-mysterious-cancer-epidemic/
IS it better diagnosis? Younger people being more aware? Or is something else going on?
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The Princess of Wales is 42.
But then I am a Conspiracy Theorist.
120
The Elephant in the room … Was Kate doing her ‘duty’ to protect HRH – that worked out well.
40
“Or is something else going on?”
We know the one thing that’s not going on.
I don’t even know to what I am referring.
I didn’t say anything.
I will worry about catastrophic anthropogenic SLR for the rest of the day.
100
I accompanied my 67yo wife for her ongoing cancer treatment at Mater Hospital just over a week ago, as we do every three weeks. This has been our routine since September. In that time we have seen a steadily increasing number of patients being treated, culminating in a quite extraordinary scene last time when the place was so busy the normally calm and super efficient staff looked stressed and slightly overwhelmed. I mentioned this apparent increase to a couple of the nurses who gave vague responses, neither agreeing nor denying.
Of course it’s impossible for me to say whether my observations mean anything, but SOME people know the truth.
130
Timing? – A Jabbed Princess gets Cancer
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13233833/Vaccine-mandates-NSW-health-workers-dropped.html
30
Solar panels plummet in price and millions are in EU warehouses or about to be installed in solar farms.
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/03/24/europes-green-energy-ambitions-clouded-by-surplus-chinese-solar-panels/
Trouble is that the intention was that the EU’s “let’s only have energy when the weather gods smile” policy, (also know as “renewables” ) was supposed to feature EU made products. However if EU companies try to compete (not that there are many) then they will go bankrupt
The same can be said for the Chinese EV’s flooding the European market, although in that case the cars are eavesdropping on you, sending data to China and can be remotely stopped. (according to the Daily Telegraph yesterday.)
120
Germany could use these in the middle of winter when the “dankelflaute” arrives.
There was a five week period in 2017 when the wind hardly blew at all.
Germany still had some nuclear power stations back then – these have now been closed.
81
I once travelled through Germany, Switzerland and Austria on the train in winter and was struck by how many solar panels there were om domestic houses and how few of them would see the light of day again until march/april as they were on houses in very steep valleys that kept the low sun out.
90
If I only manage 23% efficiency from my panels in sunny Western Australia in summer, what will be the average panel efficiency in Europe over a year? It must be below 10% average.
20
It’s 10.6 percent in the UK with light levels especially low in the often dull months of November to March. On shore wind is 22 percent and off shore wind 32 percent.
10
Thanks for the info Tony – nice to have some actual data from the UK.
Your wind CF figures are also interesting – lower than Aust, and the offshore CF figure gives us some idea of what Aust might expect.
Naturally, the figures for Aust are way lower than the figures being quoted by GenCost, the very faulty CSIRO report that forms the basis for Australia’s federal govt energy decisions.
00
A useful reference site for solar data:
https://globalsolaratlas.info/map
Ditto wind:
https://globalwindatlas.info/
00
From the same article, tells a sad story:
“Can European manufacturing catch up? “I think that ship has sailed,” says Tom Smout at Aurora Energy Research. “Up to 2012, there was a healthy looking European solar panel industry but it was actually very reliant on subsidies and preferential treatment.”
60
“very reliant on subsidies and preferential treatment.””
If only we could stop ANY subsidies by Govt the world would be a far wealthier and better place. Any business that requires a subsidy of money stolen from the taxpayer is not viable, not a real business, and will not add value to the GDP. If the taxpayer spent that money themselves it would be better used.
The same goes for tariffs, a country should concentrate on their advantages and expertise in the world market, not trying to prop up dinosaurs at the expense of the buying public.
60
Imagine putting a business case to the bank to get a loan and saying: ‘the proposed business is not viable without external subsidies’. How would that work out ?
30
You need to know how the Government Class works. They make the rules. They count the votes. That is all that matters. Any business is viable if it has support from the Government Class.
Putin does it a bit differently. He makes the rules and destroys dissenters. Vote counting a formality with guaranteed outcome.
CCP also a bit different. They make the rules. No need to count votes.
The UN prefer the CCP model. And the CCP like the UN so there is an amalgamation of like minds going on. I see the GCP in the future.
30
Volkswagen Cuts EV Production, Cancels New Wolfsburg Factory
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/09/30/volkswagen-cuts-ev-production-cancels-new-wolfsburg-factory/
90
EV’s, we are told are very reliable & cheap to own & maintain because there’s so “ few moving parts that can fail“ when compared to fossil fuelled vehicles.
What is seldom mentioned are the 6,000 or so individual batteries that make up the complete battery in an EV. A fault in just one of those 6,000 components will result in an uncontrollable conflagration.
I’ve not counted the number of moving parts in any ICE vehicle but doubt there are 6,000 critical moving parts that can cause very fast & deadly disaster!!
The EV “fad” will last as long as long as the subsidies last, as will renewable electricity.
By all accounts it has already started to lose credibility & the “ rot “ has set in.
Maybe another 3/5 years & reality will bite!
180
Graham,.. dont overlook the 1000s of sppecialised electronic components , ICs, diodes, capacitors, resistors, fuses, micro printed circuits, etc etc ….that are required to monitor, control, and convert, high power systems in an EV.
All additional to any normal automotive electrical systems.
The consequences of any single component failure would be a major specialist electronics nightmare…..not something for any local auto technician.
Fault-fix cost are going to be horrific !
60
It’s quite standard to have a cost point when it’s cheaper to stop fault finding and throw the module in the bin. And it’s important for techs not to let their ego get the better of them and just throw it away.
00
Yes Graeme, that already happens with electrical systems in ICEs..as well as most electrical appliances
But EVs have many more electrical systems , assemblies, and components, than ICEs.. BMS, Power inverter (3 phase) , chargers(high power), regen controller, etc etc.
All of which both increase the probability and costs of a failure in one of those systems
10
Those surplus panels will soon be put to good use. Albanese has developed a wizard idea that will solve global boiling AND make use of all those CBD car parks that are unused at night. Thousands of panels will be set up each evening, as the car parks empty, gather all the sunlight through the night, then be collected and stored out of the way during the day, leaving the car parks ready for the day’s commuters.
Genius.
120
I bet this is BoB’s idea. Sound’s very much like his “ innovative mind “ at work & Albozo will grab any idea to help pull him out of the hole he’s in.
20
Meanwhile up north
Is this what “Global Boiling” looks like?
https://notrickszone.com/
200
Tomorrow the corrupt government of New York State will began confiscating Donald Trump’s property.
Despite warnings from rational adults.
https://rumble.com/v4kum20-cnn-panelist-points-into-camera-with-direct-warning-for-dem-ag-if-she-seize.html
This marks the ending of NYC as a financial center.
A decline likely inevitable in the internet age.
It is also marks American decent into political conflict.
A conflict ignited by of out of touch, spoiled elitist contempt for ordinary people.
Hardly confined to the US.
Anyone that owns a tractor and knows how and when to use it, is culturally antithetical to the Global Cabal.
Here are a couple of vacuous, soulless academics illustrating my assertion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcsxO6rbhlI
90
This has had quite quite a lot of publicity over here in the UK. The general consensus amongst the financial experts is that it will scare off investments in New York as any such investments could in effect be confiscated by a politically motivated judge.
As far as I could tell from the evidence, Trump gave a proper valuation and the banks must have agreed as they would have checked on their value at the time they agreed to lend money to Mr Trump.
180
Maybe not though.
Truth Social is worth billions and it seems he has got his $500 million.
He won’t be elected again as the system is totally rigged, but it would have been nice to see him destroy the corrupt NYC court system and get his stolen money back.
30
FWIW – Sounds like the fat lady might be a way off singing yet –
“‘Not Likely to Happen’ – Jonathan Turley Explains Why Letitia James Won’t be Able to Seize Trump’s Assets (VIDEO)”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/03/not-likely-happen-jonathan-turley-explains-why-letitia/
00
“Oregon Shutting Down Gardens & Farming To Save something…”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/03/24/oregon-shutting-down-gardens-farming-to-save-something/
60
‘They’ are circling the wagons and confiscating property, the start of clamping down on food production.
30
Hi-jab and lo-jab elitist policies. Take away cits’ food,
eliminate efficient energy use, control their speech, herd them into city enclaves
where they must obey or else…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxD-5z_xHBU&ab_channel=RuiBastos
20
After surviving the last ten years and reading the ten comments above, the only conclusion to reach is that we are in the midst of World War three.
Verbalism reigns with truth and decency buried somwhere between the UNIPCCC, WHO and WEF.
Perhaps Tawdry Tedros Anhydros can save us all.
90
The prophecies are being fulfilled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5t22DZjlQ
The never again crowd are preparing to sacrifice the Red Heifer, which will lead to the destruction of the Dome of the Rock, which will P off a couple of billion people, which will bring about Armageddon.
It does not matter what you or I believe, it’s what they believe.
30
Nonsense on so many levels. Firstly there are nowhere near 2bn of them. Secondly they are in no sense monolithic – not ethnically, geographically or even religiously. Thirdly they are historically losers when up against any kind of organised opposition – sure they do “well” against unarmed and innocent infidels, not so well against armies. Finally the seeds of the destruction of Islam have been planted in UAE and have spread to the centre of that belief system, Saudi Arabia. It is only “prospering” in the west and central Africa where it draws strength from hating the infidel.
12
I will admit that number may be a rounding error, and maybe I added GST, but that number you quoted is probably correct.
Not my prophecies, it’s theirs, I am just passing on the good word of the Holiest of Hollies.
You could have just wrote hate a couple of times instead of the rest.
(Do you like how I included GST in the quote, I know how you South Australians like my GST)
00
Depends on what you consider the starting point.
2014 and the Minsk agreement perhaps?
The terror attack marks the wake-up-or-else point though, which most will ignore as is their way.
It doesn’t matter what they believe, because THEY haven’t got one prophecy right in recorded history, unlike other people who get it right and warn people ahead of time regularly.😎
10
Well they were right about you.
Beware of the false profit.
You are running the same batting average as they are.
00
If pointed at me, perhaps we (ie you) should do a tally so far.😁
00
Zero + Zero = Zero, you could have done this yourself.
00
I saw this little environmental item in the news. People installing designer rock faces on seawalls in Sydney to encourage critters and plant life. Far enough I suppose. What I thought was interesting was that they were installing them at the current tide levels, and you know, not making allowance for the well known accelerated, apocalyptic, unprecedented sea level rise.
https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/world-first-behind-change-to-sydney-harbour/news-story/4af6e715a42b2a57915b9e17222a610a
121
World first?
Been doing it in the UK since I was a kid, became trendy again recently.
Of course in reality it’s pointless, amounts to nothing % more habitat in the vast coasts, whatever the experts like to kid themselves.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-66663115.amp
50
The sea level will only rise if the ice in Antartica and Greenland melts – but it is getting colder in both
50
But the volume of ice is more than the volume of water . Try putting a full bottle of water in the freezer 😁 so how does that figure?
00
That is why Ice floats
00
Umm (to quote Tony), what living creature would benefit from them being above tide levels? Put them up at the expected level for 50 years time and they will be eroded away by the time they are needed.
20
““ANTHROPOCENE EPOCH” JUST ANOTHER GREEN FAIL:”
“No ‘human era’ in Earth’s geological history, scientists say”
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-human-era-earth-geological-history.html
10
Excellent- geologists do have their feet on the ground compared to most environmental scientists and they seem to be more in the sceptic’s camp than the alarmist’s.
30
Labor MP Andrew Charlton reveals Australia is third most expensive G20 country for groceries amid cost of living crisis
A Labor MP and member of the parliamentary economics committee has laid bare the extent of Australia’s cost of living crisis, revealing shocking figures about how much people are paying for groceries compared to other countries.
World Bank data, provided by Mr Charlton to Sky News Australia, shows the nation is the third most expensive G20 country in the world for groceries after Korea and Japan.
The figures also show Australia pays more than 108 per cent more than the world average for vegetables, 41 per cent more for meat and 73 per cent more for other grocery items.
“In fact, Australians pay 54 per cent more than the world average for food and that’s been established by a number of sources.
“What that means is, if something costs $10 in another country, Australians might be paying $15 for it.
“Australians are entitled to ask why – why when we’re a nation that produces so much food, are we being charged such high prices?”
I can believe the 41 per cent more for meat, my son sent me an MMS 3 Mar 24, of he and my eldest Grandson buying 1.83Kg of very nicely Marbled Sirlion Steak at an Ancona Italy supermarket for Euro 12.63 – Euro 6.90 per kilo = AUD $20.95 at AUD $11.44 per kilo
Woolworths has Poterhouse Steak at $44.44 per kilo or Woolworths Premium Wagyu Beef Sirloin Steak at $75.00 per kilo
Coles has No Added Hormone Beef Quick Cook Porterhouse Steak at $44.45 per kilo – no sirloin
Bazza BBQ Meats Beef Sirloin Steak – kg $37.70
I somehow I think we are being ripped off here in Australia! – (when in Milan in June last year I found restaurants were cheap compared to Sydney)
40
https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/coles-trials-security-tags-on-meat-products-to-combat-theft/news-story/d276513eb109a3919a1003a989b57c6a
10
I found a local wholesale butcher in a warehouse in a light industrial area. Blocks of grass fed blade are $12.99 / kg. I got Rump last month for the same. I only have to buy a few kilo at a time. Easy.
Anything but Woolworths (and Coles too). Support local businesses.
60
Similarly, my daughter took me to an Asian shopping precinct recently, where I bought a pile of sauces, ingredients, etc. While there, I checked out the butcher and was amazed at the prices, which were significantly lower than Coleworths, but also very pleased with the quality. The fresh produce in our big two supermarkets has been falling for some time now, making their high prices even less appealing.
I am once again able to make a nice chicken Rendang with TENDER chicken breast that doesn’t fill the pan with water when I fry it 🙂
As for cheap cuts of cow, you can’t beat a good old-fashioned pressure cooker for turning blade etc into a tender beef stew, and it only takes 15mins!
20
That’s a good price Jo!
Coles is $20/kg, Woolies “low fat premium” $30, and I buy from IGA from a niche grower for $18/kg, but most grass fed beef is “feedlot finished” and the butcher may not even know.
10
They know, like I told you, we have the NLIS system. They come off the property of birth and must be tagged for the journey, they are scanned before boarding, and those tags are registered to the property of birth (PIC, property identification code). If they go to the sales the NILS’s are transferred to the sale yard PIC, on sale they are scanned and the NLIS is transferred to the new home, and on and on until their final destination.
Your grass fed steak can tell you which property it was born, and in some instances which paddock it grew up in. Paddock to Plate, it is a selling point for Aussie beef.
A total hypothetical here, if some bug was detected, every slice of beef can be pulled off the shelves, for that individual animal.
10
Switch from the prime beef cuts to cheaper ones such as Blade or Chuck Steak
And embrace Indian cooking. Beef Vindaloo if done well is hard to beat.
https://planningwithkids.com/2023/10/13/slow-cooker-beef-vindaloo/
If Indian is too hot for you then Thai Massaman beef curry is the way to go.
https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/slow-cooker-massaman-beef-curry/2032d35f-e025-4f62-899f-76957e6fd3d1
11
Malaysian Rendang for me 🙂
10
Can we have a comparison of the beef prices in a few other countries?
Japan on the “top” side and Argentina as a less expensive option.
Another consideration is the concentration of the “middle men” in the meat processing. Are there smaller processors competing with the large abattoirs? I suspect there are in Italy. Farm to local butcher who is also the total processor is mmissing in Australia I suspect.
10
Your wish is my command.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_price_rankings?itemId=121&displayCurrency=AUD
Or by index points:
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/meat_prices_wb/
Or if you prefer video:
https://youtu.be/CygXoOVZ41Q?si=KHBG6pSx8WOuymcw
Predicted consumption:
https://youtu.be/9PD97aruNAc?si=n4ZrCF8PXHO9JEmi
20
As Israel fights on 2 fronts, it might be asleep at the wheel on Iran
Mark Dubowitz, the head of the FDD think tank warns that Israel’s decision-makers must not drop the ball on the most important thing, even as they deal with the crises on the northern and southern borders.
Dubowitz says that since Oct. 7, Iran has been using asymmetrical methods – the terrorist organizations operating on its behalf and with its funding – to allow it a quiet and safe space to advance the development of its unconventional weapon, the nuclear bomb. I asked him to explain. Everyone is preoccupied with terrorism, he said. You, the Israelis, are fighting in Gaza and Lebanon and a bit in Syria, and you have no time to deal with anything else. The US is busy with the Houthis and militias in Iraq. And meanwhile, the Iranians are doing as they please.
Two examples. The first is the underground enrichment facility that Iran is building in Natanz. Dubowitz says that all data indicate that this facility will be completed by the end of the year. It is being built at a depth of 100 meters (330 ft), meaning it would be deep enough to withstand Israeli and most likely American bombs as well. The conclusion: There are nine months before Iran enters a new era of immunity.
The second example is Iran’s nuclear weapons group. The former IDF chief of staff, Aviv Kochavi, revealed in an interview in this paper last year that Iran has secretly resumed this activity, aimed at turning enriched material into an operational weapon.
Dubowitz estimates that Iran is not interested in breaking out to a bomb at this time.
It does have enough enriched material for several bombs, but it has chosen to advance laterally.
The idea is to accumulate more enriched uranium (currently at 60% purity, in complete violation of the nuclear deal) and enough knowledge, so that from the moment a decision is made to break to a bomb, the process will be quick and massive. Iran, he believes, does not want just a single bomb: It wants to establish itself as a leading player.
This will take time. The conventional wisdom is that Iran would still need 18-24 months. For those who want to stop Iran, there is much less time. In a few more months, it will reach a point where it will be significantly immune from attacks. It will already have enough knowledge and capabilities to complete the bomb, and even if attacked, it will be able to quickly restore what it will have lost.
21
Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain Champagne Socialists
Monday, 25 March 2024
20
As an F1 Fan best comment on
ALONSO SLAMS “DISAPPOINTING” PENALTY FOR RUSSELL INCIDENT IN F1 AUSTRALIAN GP
Fernando Alonso says it was “disappointing” to get a 20-second penalty for his role in George Russell’s crash in Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix, saying his driving wasn’t dangerous.
Comment:
So, let me get this straight, Russell runs out of talent in the middle of a turn and Alonso gets penalized?
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Your verdict
Do you think Alonso deserved his penalty? If not, what other penalty should he have received?
Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Fernando Alonso’s drive-through penalty for his driving at turn six was:
From the Comments
– And do not forget that Johnny Herbert who since 2007 h4t3s the guts of FA was stewarding.
– BTW, google “Herbert Says Alonso Incident Upset His Wife.” Do they really think it’s a good idea for a guy with so much bad blood w/Alonso to be a steward. Why didn’t Kevin Magnussen get a penalty for intentionally driving slowly in Jeddah?
– MO if a driver crashes by himself he’s the one to blame, not the one defending.
Alonso is a good defender and he also didn’t let perez past him in brazil last year, or at least he re-overtook him.
– I guess the only legal thing now is to pull to the dirty inside line and hope the driver behind has no idea what they’re doing. Surely, there could be a better choice for a steward than British steward (with so many prominent British drivers) who has shown a very clear dislike for some drivers would be more appropriate.
– True, didn’t even think about the british connection, so we have a british steward, british affected driver and a driver the steward doesn’t like as guilty.
– Just because the guy slowed down a bit in one of the corners and the other guy just couldn’t handle it.. jeez! It was purely a racing incident and nothing more in my book.
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George Russell has run out of concentration in the last laps of a race before.
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Yep he does seem to be consistent in this
George Russell screams after crashing out of 2023 Singapore GP in dramatic final lap
George Russell was fighting for the win in Singapore, but the British driver crashed out on the final lap.
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Re Johhny Herbert, I thought the 3 place grid penalty to Perez was a bit stiff till, I saw Herbert was one of the Stewards and not a fan of Red Bull
“Perez, who was on an out lap, was at the apex of the turn and Hulkenberg had to leave the racing line to drive around him.
“Hulkenberg was forced to lift the throttle early and brake early for that corner.
“In reviewing the audio from Perez’s car, the Stewards observed that the team was focused on the car in front of Perez that had just slowed, and did not give Perez a warning that Hulkenberg was behind him until one second before Hulkenberg arrived, and significantly too late to avoid impeding Hulkenberg.
“While the Stewards appreciate the dynamic situation facing the team and driver during the Q1 session, which was described in the hearing, the Stewards find that Perez “Unnecessarily Impeded” Hulkenberg and issue a three grid place drop, consistent with previous cases.”
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The telemetry doesn’t lie. It’s clear to me that Alonso employed a old racer’s (dirty) trick, one that both Senna and Schumacher were fond of. His excuse that he was merely going in slow to exit fast doesn’t wash because he apparently slowed, then sped up again before hitting the brakes for the corner. A driver with Alonso’s experience doesn’t do that by mistake.
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Dick Smith angry at the ABC and their fact checkers, re: unreliables and nuclear power.
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‘What The Nurses Saw’ book arrived today. 8 days from amazon UK, which is pretty good. Things can take that long from Melbourne. It is kindle-able on amazon, but I dislike reading on kindle, and UK was the only place the book seemed available. It rakes over the very early pandemic, and it is some stuff I’ve seen before, but it brings a lot of in your face testimony, into one place. The website lists a heap of video, some on Rumble, that I missed. I’ve just had an hour with it, and just the first chapter’s testimony is devastating – it is on video too. There is also an large appendix, which includes a chat GPT interview on remdesivir, which shows how hard you have to push AI, to get more than the bare bones on a topic.
https://whatthenursessaw.com/documentation/
A shocking May 2020 post on face book, that gets right back to the front lines. Actually not the front line, it’s the casualty evac centre!
https://rumble.com/v3k2tel-gross-negligence-has-patients-dying-at-nyc-hospitals-nurse-nicole-siroteks-.html
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TRAGIC: “Getting Cancer After COVID Jabs and Booster in the Same Place
Wales, Mark was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer and died after losing his battle with stage 4 Metastatic Tenosynovial Giant Cell on the 15th of May, 2023.
https://lionessofjudah.substack.com/p/tragic-getting-cancer-after-covid
Oohhh..nasty!
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Bit of a bunfight going on right now between Dick Smith and the ABC, and now Elon Musk has weighed in on the side of Dick Smith.
Elon Musk criticises fact checkers and accuses them of ‘tyranny after Dick Smith complains about ABC RMIT fact check (Paywalled)
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/dick-smith-accuses-the-rmit-abc-fact-check-of-publishing-lies-and-inaccuracies-about-nuclear-energy/news-story/aae9ffb83fca4f25713cd88a5c42ee3a
It started off with Dick Smith making a comment that no country is 100% renewable.
The ABC then asked the RMIT “fact check” group to be involved, and they also involved an “expert” from Stanford University.
The ABC then stated that there were four countries – Albania, Nepal, Bhutan and Paraguay, that were 100% renewable.
Dick Smith is very angry at the ABC, pointing out that he meant all energy, not just electricity.
But the ABC, and their so-called “fact-checkers” and “expert”, are clearly wrong, as only ONE of these countries – Paraguay, obtains 99.9% of its electrical energy from renewables. Two of the other countries, Albania and Nepal, import part of their power from other non-renewable sources. This can easily be confirmed using Wikipedia.
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SO WHO LET THIS PONCE BECOME AMBASSADOR IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Was it you Jim Chalmers….or you Penny Wong…..No?….then who could it have been? Oh no, it turns out it was our Prime Minister ‘One-Term-Tony’ Albanese!
How unusual for him to not read the room (not)!
You would think, after getting everything wrong with the farcical Voice referendum, Albanese would thoroughly think through important issues and discuss with his colleagues before making important decisions.
Instead – and reportedly against the advice from Penny Wong – he jumped in again with his ‘Captain’s Choice’ option and chose his mate Kevin ‘Pink Batts’ Rudd as our Ambassador to the USA – our most important ally!
It never dawned on Albanese that Donald Trump might make a comeback and return as US President later this year, as he may well do.
It’s just another example of Albanese’s total lack of political acumen – he’s all ideology and emotion – no commonsense whatsoever!
Donald Trump’s recent comments about Rudd were all quite reasonable and measured given the circumstances. However, ‘their’ ABC (certainly not our ABC) couldn’t possibly accept that fact. They denounced Trump in the harshest terms – but what else would you expect from a Marxist collective like the ABC?
They said they couldn’t understand why Trump would attack such a nice guy? What has little Kevie ever done to deserve being treated like this by a possible future second term US President?
Well, how about the following utterances from Rudd’s infamous guttersnipe mouth:
“Donald Trump is a traitor to the West!”
“The most destructive president in history. He drags America and democracy through the mud. He thrives on fomenting, not healing division.”
“I think the general consensus amongst anyone concerned with a public policy process, domestic or international, thinks he’s nuts!”
“Despite FBI warnings, Trump cultivated QAnon conspiracy theories because he profited from them politically and financially. Now we are seeing the consequences.”
“Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement took effect yesterday. This should go down as one of his most dangerous acts.”
You can see why the ABC and its leftie supporters attacked Trump on the last issue.
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Je t’aime CO₂
Ice cores vs stomata from prehistory for past CO₂ determinations.
https://principia-scientific.com/a-re-evaluation-of-earths-co2-history/
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THE WHO WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD
The World Health Organisation (WHO) will present two new texts for adoption by its governing body, the World Health Assembly comprising delegates from 194 member states, in Geneva on 27 May–1 June.
The new pandemic treaty needs a two-thirds majority for approval and, if and once adopted, will come into effect after 40 ratifications.
The amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) can be adopted by a simple majority and will be binding on all states unless they recorded reservations by the end of last year. Because they will be changes to an existing agreement that states have already signed, the amendments do not require any follow-up ratification.
The WHO describes the IHR as ‘an instrument of international law that is legally-binding’ on its 196 states parties, including the 194 WHO member states, even if they voted against it. Therein lies its promise and its threat.
The new regime will change the WHO from a technical advisory organisation into a supra-national public health authority exercising quasi-legislative and executive powers over states;
change the nature of the relationship between citizens, business enterprises, and governments domestically, and also between governments and other governments and the WHO internationally; and shift the locus of medical practice from the doctor-patient consultation in the clinic to public health bureaucrats in capital cities and WHO headquarters in Geneva and its six regional offices.
From net zero to mass immigration and identity politics, the ‘expertocracy’ elite is in alliance with the global technocratic elite against majority national sentiment.
The Covid years gave the elites a valuable lesson in how to exercise effective social control and they mean to apply it across all contentious issues.
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Civilisation becomes Civi-lie-sation
24th March 2024 – Peter Smith
More to my point, no civilisation lives forever.
Do those within a civilisation necessarily know, in the immediate aftermath of its death, that it has in fact died; that, effectively, they are living their lives in the beginnings of a new civilisation, which only later will be named and recognised by future historians? I suspect not. Thus I’m a pathbreaker or badly mistaken, one of the two. For I believe that Western civilisation is now dead. Not dying mind, but dead.
A breathing Western civilisation adheres to Judeo-Christian values. Without being exhaustive, this entails having a non-compromising regard for the truth. Dealing with other each other fairly and kindly, without favour stemming from position, kinship, ethnicity or belief systems. Exhibiting tolerance, decency and interpersonal trust. Applying the law equally. Maintaining a right to speak freely, to assemble and to associate. Protecting private property rights.
Nothing’s perfect among corruptible human beings. There is much ruin in a nation, Adam Smith wrote in the late 18th century. ‘Much ruin’ is short of total ruin. Western civilisation is not a fragile creature. It’s robust and resilient. But the strongest back is broken if enough force is applied. And the force which has been applied over recent decades is quite awesome.
Let me focus only on the death of truth and leave a wider focus for another day. That’s sufficient enough to ruin Western civilisation.
Though, the legal persecution of Donald Trump by his political opponents. which Peter O’Brien wrote about, and the mass immigration of those with clashing values, have each individually also delivered mortal blows.
Lies are now common currency in the media.
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They have been throughout all history. 😎
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Dennis Skinner (UK Member of parliament): “Half the Tories opposite are crooks!” Speaker of Parliament: “You must retract that immediately!” Dennis Skinner: “OK, half the Tories opposite aren’t crooks”
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There’s that “Lady” again!
Was Victoria Nuland involved in the Moscow terror attack?
Now a new name emerges, none other than pro-Ukraine warmongering Democrat State Department operative Victoria Nuland, who left office for greener, swampier pastures a few weeks ago.
According to Mark Wauck, writing on his Substack:
In the previous post I referenced Victoria Nuland’s recent claim that “Putin will face some nasty surprises on the battlefield”—that’s the actual direct quote. But she also refers in that exact context to “asymmetric warfare.” In the context of her remarks she’s clearly not referring to bombs and missiles and artillery shells. “Asymmetric” is a very specific word, a word intended to distinguish that type of warfare from “symmetric” warfare: shell for shell, bomb for bomb, missile for missile. The next tweet contains the 24 second clip of Nuland making that statement, in which she touts Ukraine’s “asymmetric warefare” capabilities. Yeah, I thought we just gave the Ukro-Nazis money and munitions? How does Nuland know about the Ukrainian “asymmetric warfare that has been most effective”?
A month ago (to the day!) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Victoria “F the EU” Nuland promised the aid to Ukraine would allow them to “accelerate the asymmetric warfare that has been most effective” and that Putin is “sure to face some nasty surprises.”
Nuland left her post as the Deputy Secretary of State 10 days prior to this video. Moscow civilians were killed today in an act of terrorism (asymmetrical warfare).
But the Nuland angle is interesting, too, she’s fanatically pro-Ukraine and anti-Putin and has engaged in warmongering, coups, and other stunning manipulations in the past, and often bragged about it, too.
We don’t know what she is doing now that she is out of office but it seems she’s unlikely to be suddenly uninterested in the topic now that she’s off the government payroll because for the swamp with all its consultant contracts, that could be irrelevant.
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Loneliness worse for health than smoking, obesity, alcoholism
While it might not be regularly considered a high-risk lifestyle factor, the so-called loneliness epidemic appears to be an absolutely devastating risk factor for health.
In a press release about new research, the Regenstrief Institute data informatics firm said that its study, conducted alongside the Indiana University School of Medicine, suggests that a majority of people aged 65 or older consider themselves lonely — which may well be worse for them than alcoholism, obesity, smoking at least 15 cigarettes per day, or leading a sedentary lifestyle.
Published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, this groundbreaking look at what researchers are calling a “biophysical stressor” may help doctors better address this overlooked lifestyle factor that seems to greatly reduce quality of life for seniors.
The results were alarming: that nearly 53 percent of seniors identified in a database study experienced loneliness, and among those who experienced it, mental and physical health outcomes were much poorer across demographics and health conditions.
https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.18762
Millions of spare rooms in Australian households with opportunity to be used for companionship, security and cost cutting, all going to waste.
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From a Morris Walsh novel of a long time ago –
“Being alone doesn’t mean being lonely”
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More from the annals of the Chestfeeding Society; ‘trans-milk’
Hot on the heels of an article featuring one of the latest woke crazes, “chestfeeding,” news media reported on a “transwoman” who was allegedly successful at feeding his baby using liquid pumped out of his body.
Only he wasn’t really successful, unless you consider a teaspoon-and-a-half of “milk” a day good enough for a hungry baby.
The man in question is described in a case study published in the International Breastfeeding Journal. He started “transitioning” aged 24 and is now 37 and in a partnership with a woman who used his sperm, cryopreserved from the days before he started taking hormone cocktails, to become pregnant. At this point, the father started taking even more drugs to trick his body into producing “milk,” and at around 17 weeks’ gestation (his wife’s, that is), he started expressing this liquid, managing to extract around 2 milliliters per day. He started pumping at 35 weeks, and by the time the baby was born, he was able to produce a grand total of 7 milliliters in 24 hours, about one percent of the amount needed to supply a baby’s needs at that age.
https://frontline.news/post/more-from-the-annals-of-the-chestfeeding-society-trans-milk
Gotta laugh at these idiots and their ludicrous delusional dreams. Honestly…
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Cull that as a milker!
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