JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
Jo appreciates your support to help her keep doing what she does. This blog is funded by donations. Thanks!
Follow Jo's Tweets To report "lost" comments or defamatory and offensive remarks, email the moderators at: support.jonova AT proton.me
Statistics
I think it’s great that Australia is leading the way in digital ID.
Once an Ozzian citizen is given a number, will there be an implant?
Or is tattooing being considered?
110
On the forehead, where the AI can see it coming..
Implants require a higher intellect to produce them.
80
Depends how you view endless repetitive MSM and political lies. 😎😉
40
Uniparty governments today: ‘We have made it clear in the legislation that digital IDs are entirely voluntary.’
Uniparty governments 20 years from now: ‘We have made it clear in the legislation that tattooed barcodes are entirely voluntary.’
Uniparty governments 40 years from now: ‘We have made it clear in the legislation that brain implants are entirely voluntary.’
The problem isn’t Digital IDs as such. It is that they can be misused. They will be seen by some as a means by which they can punish us for what they believe are our wrongdoings. For some, carbon dioxide allowances, travel restrictions, mobility restrictions, control over currency and bank accounts, social credit scores, vaccination records and compulsory identification on social media would be on their agenda, and digital IDs would make all of it possible.
30
The threat is real.
Assessing America’s vulnerability to a Chinese graphite embargo
By David Wojick, Ph.D.
https://www.cfact.org/2024/05/20/assessing-americas-vulnerability-to-a-chinese-graphite-embargo/
The beginning: “In an earlier article, I pointed out that China has a monopoly on the processed graphite used to make almost all lithium batteries. Now, I am thinking about what might happen if China were to use that monopoly power to impose a graphite embargo on America. If we got into a big flap over Taiwan, for example. I am not suggesting this is likely, just possible. In the military this is called a vulnerability assessment, and I have done a few. The potential impact is damaging enough to be worth thinking about, perhaps even doing something about. There are plausible scenarios where the damage to America is crippling.
Not that I am here doing a vulnerability assessment, as that would be a serious research project. Let’s just look at some basic issues that can get people started. Anyone thinking such an embargo is impossible should look at the 1973 Arab oil embargo, which hit America pretty hard. I was there. Some features of that fiasco are likely to recur in a graphite embargo scenario, especially hoarding in reaction to short supply.
The basic idea is that the supply of new lithium batteries stops coming. How and how quickly this might happen when the processed graphite supply stops are two of the biggest research questions. This gets into how the embargo might be implemented. Given that a lot of our batteries are imported, it is not a matter of simply stopping graphite shipments to America. On the impact side, it is amusing that there is already a lot of hand-wringing about how a graphite shortage might slow down the forced transition to electric vehicles. Since I oppose that forced transition, I would consider this impact a benefit.
The spearpoint of adverse impact is mobile communication, which is already fundamental to America. There is also a great deal of mobile computation, which we mostly take for granted. Things like email and web access. So, let’s start with smartphones, which pretty much all use lithium batteries. According to Statistica, the number of smartphones bought each year is over a whopping 120 million. Estimated American users are around 300 million, so purchases equal 40% of the user population, which looks like a very high turnover rate.
Without graphite, this huge flow of essential battery-powered devices could quickly stop. Nor would there be new replacement batteries for the existing fleet of phones, which would cease working at some rate that needs to be estimated. Hoarding of existing batteries would hasten this chaos.”
More in the article. Please share it. It applies to other countries as well.
China’s processed graphite monopoly is flying under the radar.
101
Has Biden shot the USA in the foot on Chinese graphite?
https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20240519207/teslas-are-cheaper-than-ever-heres-how-bidens-china-tariffs-will-affect-costs
70
Good research question. The US has zero production capacity in battery graphite but there are startups trying to raise capital and this might help them. But US battery makers have to buy Chinese graphite so they are hurt.
31
“…Chinese electric vehicles from 25% to 100% in 2024, functionally keeping them out of the U.S. market. ”
Might be a NAFTA sized hole in those plans. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/China-EV-makers-rush-cars-to-Mexico-and-Brazil-amid-tariff-concerns
40
It wouldn’t be just graphite that this applies to. e.g. the current state of nickel is part of this scene.
00
One of the few other sources of quality graphite is Sri Lanka.
That country is now effectively a Chinese colony.
All the dote: Some assembly required.
10
No this is about processed graphite which only China produces.
See my http://www.cfact.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wojick-Chinas-graphite-monopoly-report.pdf
01
Got it!
00
“The basic idea is that the supply of new lithium batteries stops coming.”
That sounds like a sanction to me… All America would have to do is ask President Putin how to get around sanctions, or even some old South African ex-Govt retirees.
India and Turkey would do very well out of a sanction against America.
30
Yes that is a good research topic. If China continued to sell processed graphite to other countries it could be hard to keep it from coming here. But there would still be significant disruption.
12
Keep in mind that monopoly power is vastly greater than being a major player. They could tell every country that makes batteries that if they sold any to the US they would be cut off and shut down. But wholesalers would be harder to control.
I call it the flow of batteries which I suspect is complex.
11
Graphite is different than strategic elements. Remember, its just an allotrope of carbon. I know in the past, the US has mined graphite but it can also be made synthetically, but at a huge energy penalty. In reality, its much less of a problem than rare earth metals. The latter can be mined in American deserts but environmentalists have repeatedly blocked the development of the rare earth element mines. My guess is the graphite mines are generally in regions with coal deposits and may just need to be re-opened. It’s more a matter of economic competitiveness.
00
Hi All looking for help with an argument.
I need a good reference to the climategate email where Phil Jones declares something along the lines that he would not give his data to (McIntyre) as McIntyre only wants to find errors in it.
Profoundly anti-science attitude.
Thanks
Cheers ExW
60
Maybe you will find it in here.
https://lavoisier.com.au/articles/greenhouse-science/climate-change/climategate-emails.pdf
30
Thanks, Ian.
Much appreciated.
Cheers ExW
20
I don’t think it was a Climategate revelation and, though it was certainly reported at Climate Audit, it wasn’t about Steve McIntyre. Here is Warwick Hughes’s testimony to the UK Parliament. In para 2 it says:
80
Thanks, Robert.
Perfect.
Cheers ExW
00
Well spotted, Robert. BTW, Wazza hasn’t posted anything since Oct last year. Anyone know what’s happened.
00
Financial Times
Visual story
The battlegrounds that could decide a US-China war over Taiwan
Five key military contests are likely to determine the outcome of a conflict
Superb Visual Presentation of the US-China Taiwan Situation – Australia AUKUS Subs even get a mention!
30
” … Australia AUKUS Subs even get a mention!”
Given those subs are years away (possibly decades), we might have to ask China to postpone the war.
70
The AUKUS agreement was signed in September 2021 between PM Morrison Australia, PM Johnson United Kingdom and President Biden United States, the AUKUS partnership began with discussions between President Trump and Prime Minister Morrison in 2019 at a weekend retreat after the state dinner for PM Morrison in Washington.
The UKUS projects are many and varied and have been described as a forever partnership of the three nations. During the 2019 discussions it was decided to reinforce the Quad defence partnership of India, Japan, Australia and United States.
As for nuclear submarines RAN personnel are already being trained on board US nuclear submarines and the final choice for first deliveries began in 2021 between UK and US existing nuclear submarines was settled in 2022 with US Virginia Class to be supplied as follows;
20
During February 2024 the Albanese Labor Government signed a contract with Rolls-Royce UK for supply of Small Modular Reactors for the AUKUS nuclear submarines built in South Australia. Rolls-Royce have supplied the Royal Navy nuclear submarine SMRs for over 60 years, technology from the US experience of over 75 years.
20
Get Ready for More ‘Hard Landings’ in the Middle East
by Michael Rubin – Washington Examiner – May 20, 2024
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi perished in what Iranian media initially labeled a “hard landing.”
That Iranians celebrated with fireworks in Raisi’s hometown Mashhad reflects the hatred with which Iranians view the regime that oppresses them.
This should be a warning to the regime: Raisi is one thing, but when 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has his hard landing, it will kick-start Iranians’ active quest for regime change.
For the European Union to send condolences upon the Butcher of Tehran’s death shows the moral blindness at the heart of European policy; it is equivalent to sending condolences upon the 1942 death of Reinhard Heydrich, the German Reich’s acting governor of Bohemia and Moravia.
While the White House, State Department, and CIA scramble to figure out who might permanently replace Raisi (think former Revolutionary Guards head and current speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf), constantly playing catch-up undercuts U.S. effectiveness in the long run. A more productive approach might be to consider what other hard landings loom in the near future, adjust U.S. strategy, and recognize when Washington has invested too much in one man.
Some transitions are so certain that investing time in current leaders is foolish. Khamenei is partially paralyzed and has openly battled cancer. To assume the ailing ayatollah will be an anchor for stability is foolish. To prioritize rapprochement with his regime over strengthening traditional alliances with countries such as Israel, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia is malpractice.
Israelis want security. Iranians want freedom. A better American strategy would be to pursue both.
131
LOOSE ENDS (255)
• Regarding the helicopter crash that killed Iran’s President Raisi, what are the possibilities here:
. He had information that would lead to the arrest of Hillary Clinton
. He was flying on Jeffrey Epstein’s used chopper.
. J@wish space lasers.
. He was the next Boeing whistleblower
Possible evidence for #1:
70
The West must strike now, and collapse the Iranian regime
Story by Mark Wallace, Kasra Aarab
Hidden from many in the West is the internal chaos caused by yesterday’s events in Iran.
The past 24 hours have exposed the vulnerability of the clerical regime, and for the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – who rules with absolute power – this will be the main takeaway from yesterday’s helicopter crash and the death of president Ebrahim Raisi.
Khamenei, who has preserved the survival of his Islamist regime by consistently spilling blood on the Iranian streets, will be fully aware that if regime’s elites handle his death as they’ve handled Raisi’s, his project could unravel completely.
But as the age old saying goes: another person’s loss is another person’s gain. While chaos of the past 24 hours will have increased the ayatollah’s angst, it has simultaneously boosted the Iranian people’s morale.
Ignore Iranian state-tv propaganda, currently being recirculated on mainstream media in the West.
Iranians aren’t “flocking” to mourn Raisi’s passing: they’re celebrating it.
The death of the president, known as the “Butcher of Tehran”, was greeted with fireworks and the raising of alcoholic beverages.
Like Khamenei, the Iranian people have been closely monitoring the regime’s handling of the crash and how the elites have gone panicked. And they are surely growing in confidence that Khamenei’s death – and the subsequent and inevitable elite chaos that it will cause – will create the best opportunity to bring an end to the Islamic Republic once and for all.
91
This was a Question I asked myself when I saw that the Butcher of Tehran was flying in a Bell Huey – Russia has excellent Helicopters – Agricultural & Rugged , as does China – So why fly in a Bell Huey?
Sinister theory behind search for Iranian President’s crashed chopper
With the shock death of Iran’s President setting the Middle East on edge, a sinister new theory has emerged.
Similarly, theories of an inside job, while unlikely, underscore the “long history of violent and unresolved deaths” during rampant internal power struggles over the Islamic Republic’s 45-year history.
“But the most probable cause of this fatal helicopter crash is the least fanciful and most damning: It was an accident that most likely happened because much in the Islamic republic is in an advanced state of decay,” Rezaian said.
“In this latest iteration, former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is blaming US sanctions on why the helicopter crashed when it was flying in adverse weather conditions. This is just another classic example of the Islamic Republic’s systemic mismanagement. Who decided to put the Iranian president and foreign minister on a helicopter without visibility due to dense fog?”
Dagres noted that despite the sanctions, Iran had no issues investing in drones and missiles.
The helicopter was believed to be a 1970s vintage Bell Huey, which had been confiscated from an oil company in the 1980s and used for official business, likely without being adequately maintained.
Analysts suggested Iran could easily have acquired newer helicopters and spare parts from Russia and China, with which it has close ties.
41
A 45 year old chopper , flown in near zero viz over a mountain range, should be ok.
30
Risk of summer power shortages in NSW, Victoria rises
The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned of an increased risk of summer power shortages in NSW and Victoria due to blowouts in project timelines, raising the prospect that large energy users will need to switch off plants to avoid blackouts.
The deterioration in the outlook, just nine months after the last assessment, has been driven by the mothballing of diesel and gas plants in South Australia, and a year’s delay in the final step before EnergyConnect – a vital transmission line from SA to NSW – is connected to the grid.
https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/about_aemo/annual-report/2023/annual-report-fy23-final.pdf?la=en
120
AEMO ANNUAL REPORT – 2022-23 14
Operating today’s systems and markets Australia’s energy transition is being driven by aging coal-fired power station retirements and the proliferation of inverter-based renewable generation – large and small solar system and wind farms – which are displacing traditional black and brown coal generation.
From AEMO’s control rooms, we’re seeing the change in technology resulting in consistent and large intra-day generation shifts between variable solar generation during the daytime and coal, gas and hydro plant during the morning and at night.
This change, with the continued installation of rooftop solar, means the core technical attributes of Australia’s power systems are changing, reducing the reliance on electricity from the grid and increasing spikes in renewable penetration.
During the year, we saw periods of renewable generation peak at 84% and 68.7% of total energy used in Australia’s west and east coast power systems, respectively.
In SouthAustralia, wind and solar generation exceeded local demand for 10 days in December.
AEMO continued to work with the energy industry and other stakeholders in Australia and abroad to develop the technical and engineering capability to operate a secure and reliable power system with high volumes of renewable generation
50
Update to the 2023 Electricity Statement of Opportunities May 2024
An updated report for the National Electricity Market
Executive summary
New information has become available since AEMO released the 2023 Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO) in August 2023 that warrants reassessment of the supply and demand outlook in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
New information includes new commissioning dates for Project EnergyConnect, mothballed gas generators in South Australia, and approximately 4.6 gigawatts (GW) of new generation and storage projects.
While these changes to various existing and new developments across the power system change the reliability outlook in some market regions, this Update to the 2023 ESOO reinforces that urgent investments in capacity in the NEM are needed to manage reliability risks. Continued investment in transmission, generation, storage and consumer energy resources (CER), supported by existing federal and state policies, is forecast to lower reliability risks, yet additional opportunities remain for market investments to reduce reliability risks to below the relevant reliability standard over the next 10 years.
This Update to the 2023 ESOO includes:
• Updated reliability assessments on three sensitivities that featured in the 2023 ESOO, applying the updated information which has become available.
• New information on generation and storage development locations in the NEM that have the potential to improve regional reliability risks
. Without further transmission development, this analysis in Section 4.3 shows that there are limited locations in each mainland region that can support new generation and storage that will benefit power system reliability.
• Information on the investments necessary to maintain power system security as thermal generators retire and are replaced by inverter-based resources (IBR)
. As explained in Section 4.4, these accompanying investments are necessary to support power system security so new sources of supply can be operated securely and deliver reliable outcomes.
Reliability gaps continue to be forecast over the 10-year outlook in all mainland NEM regions
when considering only those developments that meet AEMO’s commitment criteria The ESOO Central scenario includes committed, in commissioning, and anticipated generation, storage and transmission projects, according to AEMO’s commitment criteria1, as well as committed investments in demand flexibility and consumer batteries that are orchestrated to minimise grid requirements.
Reliability gaps are forecast in all mainland NEM regions in the next decade in the ESOO Central scenario, signalling a need for further commitment and delivery of generation, transmission, demand side participation (DSP) and consumer assets such as batteries that can be orchestrated to minimise grid requirements.
60
We need to use our free, 100% natural coal and gas instead of batteries, the imported techno pollution solution made by slave labour.
100
Come on!
Where is the “spillage” in that approach?
The ENTIRE “green power” caper is BENT, irremediable.
It is, ans has ALWAYS been about ransacking the pockets of the “punters” to line those of the perpetually UNDESERVING.
The Road to Hell may well be paved with good intentions, but the “roadbed” is composed of the corpses of those who would rather be heading somewhere else.
40
Our fate is in good hands
These clowns do not understand the difference between generation POWER capacity (measured in gigawatts) and ENERGY storage capacity measured in gigawatt-hours).
No problem with replacing a 2 gigawatt coal-fired power station with a 2 gigawatt Tesla “Big Battery” – {that lasts for 2 hours before needing a recharge!}
80
With Bowen-in-the-wind, what could possibly go wrong.
20
Dutton has done a good job of throwing a spanner in the woke workings of Labor. The nuclear option pushes up sovereign risk.
The existing system can accept about 30% intermittent generation given the existing hydro on the mainland and Tasmania. Without more storage, there is no point adding more grid scale WDGs. The RET is destined to end in 2030. Neither brand of government seems inclined to fiddle with this since the Abbott days. The RET would need big increase to make WDGs plus storage economically viable. It would need to ratchet up about 10-fold because it is not hard to arrive at a figure of $500/MWh for WGD/battery combination.
LGC prices have not tanked in price because rooftops are eating into the grid scale WDG demand. Price currently at $46/MWh.
So even if Bobo offers financial incentives there is a good possibility that Dutton will ditch them to leave investors high and dry. Same thing now in the USA with risk of Trump undoing all of Biden’s easy money.
This article gives some indication of Dutton’s nuclear grenade:
https://www.inqld.com.au/business/2024/03/12/dutton-has-nailed-down-his-six-preferred-sites-for-nuclear-power-reactors
In other words, there is sovereign risk. And all WDG promoters now know they are dependent on mandated theft for their viability. The notion that China could keep reducing the cost of all the stuff needed is now history.
71
“The deterioration in the outlook, just nine months after the last assessment, has been driven by the mothballing of diesel and gas plants in South Australia, and a year’s delay in the final step before EnergyConnect – a vital transmission line from SA to NSW – is connected to the grid.”
Hard to see how A leads to B in this explanation, and it’s NSW and VIC that have the problem caused by the mentioned changes. Mothballed plants in SA mean nothing to VIC which has a limited interconnect capacity and is more often exporting coal power for SA stability. NSW’s situation will hardly be enhanced by introducing more variable power into a deteriorating grid. SA seems intent on beleiving all the balls can be kept in the air and is returning to the Weatherdill era thinking. It will be interesting to see how it all goes.
130
Raised risk of blackouts this summer as national energy operator sounds alarm on supply in NSW, Victoria and South Australia
Much of eastern Australia faces a heightened risk of blackouts this summer in part due to delays to a major clean energy project, the national energy market operator has warned.
James Harrison – Digital Reporter
20
Federal Labor Education Minister Jason Clare’s ‘weak’ leadership sees universities differ in their response to pro-Palestine protests
From the Comments
– The first Education Minister who has been out of his depth with the alphabet.
100
Personally I would be more concerned about the Feds telling Universities how to think and respond.
20
FWIW – some reading
“The Greens: Policies, Reality and Consequences”
http://www.the-rathouse.com/2011/The-Greens.html
And
http://www.the-rathouse.com/2011/Grover-Power.html
10
Jo & Co, great to see you’re back up and running: thought we’d lost you yesterday – then again, as a Coincidence Theorist, nothing surprises me these days. Carry on and give ‘em heaps!
120
• I’m having a hard time seeing the downside here:
A Trump presidency would risk $1 trillion in clean energy investment, WoodMac says
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) – A victory by Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election would jeopardize a projected $1 trillion in low-carbon energy investments and carbon emissions would be 1 billion tonnes more by 2050 than under current policies, according to a new analysis by Wood Mackenzie published on Thursday.
150
FWIW – stiring words?
“Ann Coulter: Long COVID ‘Total B.S.’ Made Up by ‘Neurotic Liberal Women’ ”
https://pjmedia.com/paula-bolyard/2024/05/20/ann-coulter-long-haul-covid-total-bs-n4929183
40
I dont get the meaning of this meme. “For what it’s worth – stirring words?” After reading the article, the only thing that makes any sense there is the question mark. The headline is for an article written by someone suffering from long covid! A very poor choice by editors.
01
Check Out Honda’s Fuel-Cell Big Rig, Part of a ‘Hydrogen Future’
Class 8 FCEV will join the 2025 CR-V e:FCEV, a stationary Fuel Cell System, and a driverless Autonomous Work Vehicle at ACT.
BY MARK VAUGHNPUBLISHED: MAY 19, 2024
10
Toyota And A Company Called Fuel Cell Energy Make A Case For Hydrogen
Capturing dangerous methane to make electricity and hydrogen makes the most sense.
Toyota and Fuel Cell Energy have partnered to create a mini refinery to produce hydrogen for Class 8 fuel-cell trucks and electricity to run its port operations. The facility even produces clean water to wash Toyotas coming off the ships.
The operation is expensive, in the tens of millions, but highly efficient.
Such facilities could be built at sewage treatment plants and landfills to convert deadly methane into useable hydrogen fuel.
Hydrogen certainly has its critics.
The Sierra Club calls it “an inefficient use of clean electricity,” and says, “Hydrogen should not be used to power most vehicles.”
Issues in Science and Technology, a quarterly journal published by the National Academy of Sciences, notes that “A key problem with the hydrogen economy is that pollution-free sources of hydrogen are unlikely to be practical and affordable for decades.”
The International Energy Agency says 99% of globally produced hydrogen is made from fossil fuels.
Elon Musk, the Great and Powerful, has called it “staggeringly dumb” when it’s used to fuel automobiles and doesn’t see it as a viable fuel for trucks.
Even Toyota admits hydrogen is not as efficient as electricity when it comes to passenger cars.
And I once wrote a column titled, “Hydrogen Is Bunk.”
20
The cow farts joke still doing the rounds. 😀️
20
Most of Sweden’s electricity supply comes from hydro and nuclear
This seems a bit weird since the steel maker already uses electric arc furnaces and scrap steel.
Using electricity for additional heat treatment would be much more efficient than using electricity to make “green” hydrogen and then burning the hydrogen.
But then with government subsidies plenty of weird things are possible – if not economically viable.
https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/industrial/swedens-largest-electrolyser-project-inaugurated-to-produce-hydrogen-for-green-steelmaking/2-1-1512389
20
Well, they are not really “making steel”, they are just recycling existing steel so they do not have the issues of ore reduction or steel conversion furnaces which are the main source of co2 in the steel making process.
All they are doing is remelting into ingots for rolling,..so only heat is needed.
I do wonder why they didnt consider induction heating for the rolling processes though ?
Since they do not know the processes used to originally produce the steel scrap, they cannot claim their end product is “Green Steel “
20
FWIW
“What Is The Most Pernicious Example Of “Misinformation” Currently Circulating?”
“After the thorough discrediting of so many false narratives during these years, there remain plenty of narratives still out there that richly deserve the “misinformation” label. But of those, which is the very worst, the very most pernicious? Here is my candidate: the assertion that the cheapest way to generate electricity today is with wind and solar generators.”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/05/19/what-is-the-most-pernicious-example-of-misinformation-currently-circulating/
50
So many other candidates aren’t there? Just a few…
1. “Carbon” is released into the atmosphere by ICE’s
2. Atmospheric Co2 is the principal driver of the climate
3. National Socialism (NAZIism) and Marxism are polar opposites
4. Stolen Generations
5. The Vietnam war had something to do with national liberation
6. Islam is the Religion of Peace
7. Epstein committed suicide
8. Jan 6 “Insurrection”
9. I’ll still love you in the morning
20
China & Russia Join Forces To Build A “New World Order”!
10
Did you mean a “New Non-Woke World Order”?
11
The Fruits of Supine Conservatism
David Barton throws down the gauntlet to conservatism – change or die.
What a Supine Conservatism has Wrought
20
I’m just wondering if Armenians or Greeks have a ‘right of return’ to big chunks of Turkey that they lost, not too far from the time Israel was created? Do 250 000 Armenians have a right of return to Nagorno Karabakh, that they were driven out of just last year? How is it Turks don’t get to be called colonialists? Is it just because they have a scary religion? Or is it because they don’t have a separate UN relief organisation that gives in it’s charter, Palestinians the right to return to Palestine forever? They are still Palestinians even after living somewhere else for X generations! Who inserted that clause?
40
‘right of return’ – No.
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey stemmed from the “Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations” signed at Lausanne, Switzerland, on 30 January 1923, by the governments of Greece and Turkey. It involved at least 1.6 million people (1,221,489 Greek Orthodox from Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, the Pontic Alps and the Caucasus, and 355,000–400,000 Muslims from Greece), most of whom were forcibly made refugees and de jure denaturalized from their homelands.
11
Biden to Morehouse Graduates: America Hates You
Opinion by The WSJ Editorial Board
The polls say President Biden has lost support among black Americans, and the White House appears to have settled on a strategy to win them back: spread more racial division.
That’s the main message from the President’s dishonorable commencement address Sunday at storied Morehouse College in Atlanta.
“And most of all, what does it mean, as we’ve heard before, to be a black man who loves his country even if it doesn’t love him back in equal measure?”
Thanks for the uplift, Mr. President.
Since Mr. Biden is asking questions, is this what he wants these young graduates to believe about their country—that American democracy is defined by its racial animosity, as if they still live in the Jim Crow South?
As others have noted, imagine working hard for four years to graduate and on a day of celebration for you and your families the President of the United States sends you off with a message that your countrymen who are white want you to fail. Is this what President Biden thinks of America?
He can’t run on that record, so he is trying to change the subject by dividing Americans with racial demagoguery. It’s not a message worthy of a President, though it looks like it’s the best Mr. Biden has to offer.
40
If anyone should be paying slavery reparations, it’s West Africa
40
Facts About The Ancient Roman Empire
The smell of the city is strong and foul as you make your way down Trajan’s Market. The narrow streets are hot and overcrowded with soldiers supervising, civilians running errands, and the aristocracy taking a stroll in their expensive togas.
All around you peddlers and customers are squabbling and negotiating prices. Amidst all of the commotion, you can still hear the roars from the Colosseum as another gladiator meets their violent end.
Welcome to Ancient Rome. While most people have a basic understanding of Ancient Rome, take a deeper look into the culture that’s credited with shaping the Western World.
Believe it or not, the Ancient Romans had a goddess of the sewers and drains of Rome. Cloacina, or “The Cleanser,” was believed to have presided over the Cloaca Maxima, “The Great Drain,” which was the main system of sewers in Ancient Rome. Originally derived from Etruscan mythology, she was eventually adopted by the Romans and came to be identified with Venus.
Over time, as well as being the goddess of the sewers, Cloaca was also deemed the protector of intercourse in marriage, the goddess of filth, and the goddess purity. A shrine was built in her honor directly above the entrance to the Cloaca Maxima Sewer and is where historians believe there was once a shrine.
The ancient Romans had a god for just about anything it seems, including farting. Crepitus was the Roman god of flatulence according to some sources. Crepitus was typically invoked to help people move their bowels.
Note: Best read on AdBlocker Site!
30
At least the Romans had sewers!
https://theappendix.net/issues/2014/10/how-victorian-london-almost-ended-up-with-a-roman-sewer
Also sewers in Glasgow
https://www.facebook.com/FansBillyConnolly/videos/billy-connolly-sewer-maintenance-joke/726444719087531/
20
Claim:
During the 2008 presidential campaign, VP candidate Sarah Palin said: “I can see Russia from my house.”
Rating: Misattributed
So it is that one of the quotes most strongly associated with former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin is the exclamation “I can see Russia from my house!” even though she didn’t actually utter that phrase during the campaign.
The basis for the line was Governor Palin’s 11 September 2008 appearance on ABC News, her first major interview after being tapped as the vice-presidential nominee.
During that appearance, interviewer Charles Gibson asked her what insight she had gained from living so close to Russia, and she responded: “They’re our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska”:
As to the question of whether one can actually see Russia from Alaska, Governor Palin was correct: such a view is possible from more than one site in that state. A Slate article on the topic noted that:
In the middle of the Bering Strait are two small, sparsely populated islands: Big Diomede, which sits in Russian territory, and Little Diomede, which is part of the United States.
Although two-dimensional world maps often make it easy to forget this, there are only about 2.4 miles separating the United States from Russian territory. [snip]
10
Why American Women Should Want Their Own Harrison Butker
Harrison is correct, and the flak he’s getting from the usual suspects proves that point – he’s over the target. The calm manhood he demonstrated in that speech overshadows the sorry state of affairs his detractors have created for women.
Leftism corrupts everything it touches, and we must stand up to it. Can we at least start with this example?
From the Comments
– i just have to repeat myself from another comment….someone else said: “god created man and woman, all other genders were created by democrats”.
you cannot fix stupid.
110
Harrison Butker’s defense of family
Progressives unite to condemn football star’s traditional values
By Editorial Board – The Washington Times – Monday, May 20, 2024
What should have been an unremarkable speech by a football player on a college campus on May 11 has stirred controversy. Harrison Butker, a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, gave the commencement address at Benedictine College, a small Catholic school.
The Atchison, Kansas, college has thrived thanks to its embrace of tradition and the Great Books. The school made a conscious decision to reject the nihilism fashionable at more famous academic institutions — you know, the ones currently paralyzed by uncertainty about what to do with the rising pro-Hamas campus insurgency.
That’s why Benedictine’s activities that day were free of disruptions.
Mr. Butker received a warm welcome from students who listened to him speak for 20 minutes offering a solution to America’s moral decline.
The NFL has distanced itself from the star player, and a change.org petition signed by over 200,000 people demands he be fired for his “hateful” comments.
That seems pretty unlikely, since Mr. Butker’s record-shattering talents would be hard to give up. In his first three NFL seasons, he scored 426 points — more than any other NFL player up to that point in their career. Last season, he missed only two field goals.
He’s the definition of a reliable player, but his commencement message warned students that records and sporting achievements must eventually fade from the history books. Mr. Butker and his wife’s only lasting legacy — and source of happiness — is their children.
Those deriding this as “hate speech” reveal their goal is not to protect women, but to undermine faith and family.
50
Mixed messages seem to abound in “renewables” land.
Recently we had news of the start charging for power exports in NSW https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/nearly-a-million-nsw-households-face-new-charges-for-solar-exports-20240516-p5je4c.html
Today I get an offer of 20c per kWh for 24 months if I rush out and buy a 7kW solar system. The deal was similar across the eastern states.
20
I had the Indian Call Centre $5000 Federal Government Subsidy for Solar Panels on Roof 15 Mins ago
10
lol. what did you say?
10
Groundhog Day.
Assange has won the right to appeal the case to extradite him.
10
FWIW
“More Insanity: Carbon-Footprint Analyses in Random Controlled Trials”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/05/20/carbon-footprint-analyses-in-random-controlled-trials/
10
Another triumph for the “internet of things”
“How I upgraded my water heater and discovered how bad smart home security can be
Could you really control someone’s hot water with just an email address?”
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/how-i-upgraded-my-water-heater-and-discovered-how-bad-smart-home-security-can-be/
30
If you must “automate” your home.
Use industrial grade process control products and have them hard wired over an independent and secured ethernet network.
DO NOT connect this network to the internet for any reason.
DO NOT use commercial or home grade automation products and solutions that connect to the internet under any circumstances.
10
The Winston Marshall Show: They Didn’t Show You This In The Oxford Debate
30
Excellent.
20
These people are deluded…
https://reneweconomy.com.au/battery-and-transmission-delays-give-nsw-pretext-to-extend-eraring/
00
Eraring has a POWER capacity of 2880 MW and and maximum ENERGY capacity of 2880 MW times 24 times 365 = 25,228,000 MWh per annum (not allowing for some maintence downtime)
So Eraring is to be replaced by a “Big Battery” with a POWER rating of 300 MW and an ENERGY capacity of 1600 MWh?
“deluded” is not quite the word – try “stark raving mad”
30
Have just ‘experienced’ the new YouTube layout and find it very annoying – absolutely awful – a YouTube killer for me. It was always far from perfect and got more and more messy recently but the latest is a total non goer.
00
Looks the same to me – what is the problem?
I use YouTube 95% of the time and only free to air for a few sporting events
10
The new look layout I’m getting is a 4 wide tile section descending under the video where the comments used to be. They are very distracting and annoying – makes the videos hard to watch as they are in the peripheral vision area and can’t be just ignored. The on;y thing I can do is not overlay it with an editor window.
00
to overlay
00
what? not on my end
00
I’ve just found a workaround – I have a separate browser – Brave Browser – open for just the YouTube links that I copy from the Chromium Browser. That solves the problem.
00
Latest: To fix it I open the links in an incognito window.
00
Who would have guessed? Government ‘calling for urgent new gas supply’ to meet household demands.
“Australian Energy Producers Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch says Australia has seen “12 to 18 months” of approvals uncertainty surrounding the gas sector.”
“This comes as both state and federal regulations make it hard for gas projects to be viable.”
00
Evening all,
In case you’re interested:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-21/dali-ship-refloated-two-months-after-baltimore-bridge-collapse/103874152
Cheers
Dave B
10
Amazing!!!
“Modeling Study Finds the Blatantly Obvious: More Fuel Might Burn More”
“Introduction
The latest study by Robert J. Allen, James Gomez, Larry W. Horowitz, and Elena Shevliakova, published in Communications Earth & Environment, reveals an astonishingly profound discovery: if there is more vegetation to burn, it might burn more. Truly groundbreaking! This study, titled “Enhanced future vegetation growth with elevated carbon dioxide concentrations could increase fire activity“, dives deep into the complexities of models built upon other models to tell us something as obvious as saying the sky is blue. Let’s unpack this genius-level revelation.”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/05/20/modeling-study-finds-the-blatantly-obvious-more-fuel-might-burn-more/
10
In comments
“Rud Istvan
May 20, 2024 2:53 pm
Excellent post, CR. Ridiculing the obvious in an overly simple analysis. Let’s summarize: More CO2==>more greening==>more fuel==>more fire. In 6 climate models no less. Duh!
At least for North America, there are several very important additional overlooked fire subtleties to this stupidly simplistic model ‘study’ that needed NO models.
A number of ecosystems (boreal forest, lodgepole pine, redwood) depend on forest fires as part of their natural progression. Like the tall grass prairie savanna remanent pastures on my Wisconsin Uplands dairy farm, still dotted with now old and dying (from age) prairie fire adapted burr oaks. All such ecosystems are adapted to a certain frequency/intensity of fire. For example, a brushy ground fire cannot reach redwood crowns, and their thick bark will protect the fire adapted lower trunk. Fire suppression means a buildup of fuel beyond natural levels so that when the inevitable fire hits it is much worse than natural. The Yellowstone disaster was an example.
Invasive species like cheatgrass ‘tinder’ make the fire threat much more frequency serious. Several previous posts here on that by Jim Steele.
Especially in the semi-arid US west, there is a new ‘non-natural’ source of fire frequency—us. And that same ‘non-natural’ extra source makes the resulting extra fire costs much worse.”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/05/20/modeling-study-finds-the-blatantly-obvious-more-fuel-might-burn-more/#comment-3913554
10
FWIW – Chiefio looks at “Nut-Zero”
“It is, quite simply, impossible to even get remotely close to “Net Zero” by 2030 (now only 6 years away). ”
And a lot more including some on being a “prepper”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/05/07/w-o-o-d-6-may-2024-macron-sends-fflegion-in-russia-nuke-drills-usa-flushes-cash-down-the-drain/#comment-170358
00
Instapundit –
“THIS IS BOKUM FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND FOR IT TO BE TRULY HARMFUL YOU PRACTICALLY NEED TO SHRINK WRAP THE HOUSE AND STOP ALL VENTILATION: New research shows gas stove emissions contribute to 19,000 deaths annually.
But, hey, sure, we’re supposed to “trust the science” after all the lies they’ve told.
Links to
“New research shows gas stove emissions contribute to 19,000 deaths annually”
https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/05/new-research-shows-gas-stove-emissions-contribute-to-19000-deaths-annually/
00
Lockheed Running Out Of Parking Space For F-35s Pentagon Refuses To Accept – their software needs some ‘fine tuning’. Meanwhile Putin itching to toss a single tactical nuke out of the back of a truck over the field.
10
even so, they are astonishing looking planes. I never thought anything could surpass the f16
00