Wednesday

10 out of 10 based on 11 ratings

147 comments to Wednesday

  • #
    william x

    Imho, It seems these are the current, “3 Universal Laws of Inter-Governmental-Agency-Science, 2024″…

    Ok.

    IGAS Law 1: There is no need to question or know anything, you just need to believe what you are told.

    Translation: We the Gov, Agencies, UN and Media, have chosen and funded our “experts” to confirm and “validate” our scientific claims. We are therefore, intrinsically infallable.

    Law 2: Any person whom questions the approved “science” is a person non gratia… and will be treated as such.

    Translation: If you question our official narrative, any scientific/ engineering qualifications you hold, will be null and void in argument . Understand that our Gov/Agency/UN experts are more expert than you.

    Law 3: Disagreeing with the official scientific narrative will result in censure or fines for spreading mis-information.

    Translation: Be careful plebs. We have unlimited taxpayer funds to prosecute or defend against your “spurious” claims or rights.

    Hmmm… If Galileo was still alive in 2024… I wonder what he would make of it all?

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    • #
      RickWill

      Science has been devalued to religion.

      It took a long time for true scientist to stand above the leaders of their respective faiths in seeking an understanding of their world. The new religion is Climatology and it has gained a firm footing. Climatology has gained a much broader following than Scientology. In fact, Climatology likely pips Christianity for top spot in religious faiths.

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  • #
    John Hultquist

    I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.”
    ― Richard Feynman

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    • #
      John Connor II

      There is a lot of “established science” that is bollox.

      Deoxygenated blood returning to the heart is blue. Nope, it’s red.

      You have 5 senses. Nope, 9 at least and a maximum of 33 by some metrics.

      Carrots are (directly) good for your eyes.
      Nope, they’re not.

      Up to 80% of body heat is lost through your head.
      Nope. More like 10%

      Water is a good conductor. Nope, unless it has impurities. Pure water is a BAD conductor.

      There are only 3 states of matter.
      Nope – 5. Solid, liquid, gas, plasma and BEC.

      Light isn’t affected by gravity.
      Nope, it us – the Sun is a prime example.

      100 years from now they’ll be talking about the 21st century’s great misconceptions of science.

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      • #
        Richard C in NZ

        >You have 5 senses. Nope, 9 at least and a maximum of 33 by some metrics.

        There are 2 genders. Nope, 7 at least plus another 7 plus “many more” … “since our understanding of ourselves and others is always changing and evolving”

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  • #
    TdeF

    In Australia, Science is now decided by politicians making agreements and passing laws, not scientists

    Australia
    Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011

    “The first object of this Act is to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and avoid emissions of greenhouse gases, in order to meet Australia’s obligations under any or all of the following:
    (a) the Climate Change Convention;
    (b) the Kyoto Protocol;
    (c) the Paris Agreement;
    (d) any other international agreement.”

    Actual science says removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is a complete waste of time as you cannot increase or decrease the amount of gas in equilibrium. It are replaced immediately from the vast reservoir of gas dissolved in the oceans. This is self evident from the complete failure of any human activity to change the graph of CO2 which shows only seasonal variations and no human activity.

    But Australia has now passed massive and punitive taxes based on fantasy science agreed by travelling politicians. And agreements which were supposed to be aspirational and optional in compliance are now enshrined in Australian law as compulsory and binding.

    This is science by Act of Parliament. Along with punitive taxation for defined ‘polluters’.

    I never thought that governments would be able to punish all life on earth with a tax on breathing. I was wrong.

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    • #
      Sambar

      While Australia plunges on down the road of wokeism, renewable energy “powerhouse” and absolute adoration of a stone age culture, we hear that the countries supply of intravenous fluids is running dangerously low.
      Now remember we recently had a pandemic, the only “cure” of which, would be a miraculous new medicine called an mRna vaccine. Federal government announces that it will invest in building a facility in Melbourne to produce this new form of medication and has subsequently spent large sums of money towards this goal. Now, to just step back a bit, we are told that Australia imports intravenous fluids because “they are difficult to manufacture”.
      What sort of government is so out of touch with reality that it jumps on extremely costly brand new technology to produce something, yet the absolute basic building block of modern medicine, intravenus fluids, are difficult to manufacture! Like diabetic medications, antibiotics and scores of other FUNDAMENTAL neccessities of modern life ,these are all imported and at great risk of supply chain failures, but we choose to lead the world in buzz word crap without a single foundation to build on.

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      • #
        Ronin

        All it is, is salt water, albeit very sterile, why are we importing this basic necessity.
        I bet it is imported from China.

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      • #
        Geoff Sherrington

        Sambar,
        I remain hopeful that some way will be found to answer and have accepted, fundamental questions like –
        Is Australia’s TGA and related authorities compromised?
        Is there an explanation for current excess deaths that is related to mRNA?
        Does the mRNA technology have significant danger of harm to the global genetic composition?
        And so on.
        Any ideas on how to make progress? I’d be certain that it will take legal action.
        Australia rapidly needs a new social group with a function like “inquisitors” being a well-rounded private group independent of government that devises and funds actions that might answer the questions above. The IPA has some of the right approach but has other work as well, so it is the bones of a model.
        An important function would be calling out academic misconduct now named Establishment Science.
        Geoff S

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    • #
      Richard C in NZ

      >the complete failure of any human activity to change the graph of CO2

      Alluded to by RNZ’s Kate Newton, Senior Journalist, In Depth, via WMO after much “we dunnit” blah blah blah from “climate scientists”:

      Carbon dioxide levels reach another new record at NIWA’s monitoring site on Wellington’s coast
      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/523651/carbon-dioxide-levels-reach-another-new-record-at-niwa-s-monitoring-site-on-wellington-s-coast

      The longest-running clean air station in the southern hemisphere, it captures ‘baseline’ samples of air rushing up from the Southern Ocean, before it can be tainted by any interactions with activities on land.

      And,

      World Meteorological Organization senior scientific officer Oksana Tarasova said although the long-term trend, or tendency, was the most important to look at, there were other worrying signals in the most recent data.

      The growth in CO2 concentrations between 2022 and 2023 was higher than the growth in human emissions, she said.

      The prolonged La Niña between 2021 and early 2023 – which caused intense rainfall in New Zealand and Australia but created droughts on the opposite side of the Pacific – had massively stressed the forests in the Americas.

      “When the forests are stressed they reduce their growth …which means they reduce the amount of CO2 they take from the atmosphere.”

      The El Niño-La Niña cycle was a natural phenomenon, but climate change was making the swings more intense when they happened, Tarasova said.

      “The fact that we see the response in the biosphere of such a magnitude should be really worrisome.”

      A bit awkward for the Climatistas when Atm. CO2 diverges/disconnects from Human CO2.

      BTW: I don’t mean to disparage Kate Newton. Her graphs/visuals are great. She had a whole page of live updating covid demographic charts that were better than anything I saw anywhere else in the world. I checked in every day for that.

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      • #
        TdeF

        Great. There is a lot more, but the basic point is that CO2 growth does not refelect ANY human activity. Like the exploside growth of China in this period. The massive parallel and proportional growth of trees observed by NASA. And the CO2 variations with seasons at Hawaii, explicable only by Henry’s Law in origin if not scale.

        The graph is also unique in that, totally unlike NOAA/NASA/.., it has a baseline of zero. The scientists did NOT remove the baseline and scale to form a rocket ship. So the growth of 50% in 250 years is shown as it should be, as almost zero. 0.2% a year. Compared with the growth of industrial emissions which has been 3500% in 100 years and accelerating.

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      • #
        Greg in NZ

        The only thing ‘burning’ is the irony, sometimes spelled blind stupidity: the article directly below ‘0.04% PANIC!’ is headlined:

        ‘Five Highways Closed Amid Cold, Snow, Rain And Wind In South Island’. What?! No heat waves, no drought, no Green arsonist firebugs on the loose?

        Or as Mmathapelo Makgabutlane prophesied: “yellow snow… polar blast… heavy snow… a bit of everything.” Except [the missing] heat.

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      • #
        Ronin

        “Carbon dioxide levels reach another new record at NIWA’s monitoring site on Wellington’s coast.”

        Good, it’s currently way too low.

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      • #
        Chad

        This is a suitably vague comment avoiding actual data, from kate Newtons article…

        There was no doubt where most of the increase in CO2 was coming from, Brailsford said.

        “We can trace back through some of our tracer work to say, what’s the composition of the CO2? Can we see a signal in there – and we use isotopes for this – that tells us what the origin of the increase in CO2 is? And quite clearly you can see that carbon that’s come from fossil sources is contributing to that increased burden in the atmosphere.”

        …yes but if it is so clearly visible, why not say exactly how much is it contributing ?…99%, 9.9%, 0.9% ..?……..
        …or maybe the data does not support the argument ?

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    • #
      Richard C in NZ

      TdeF in respect to Source: NIWA • Chart: RNZ/Kate Newton

      >The graph is also unique in that, totally unlike NOAA/NASA/.., it has a baseline of zero. The scientists did NOT remove the baseline and scale to form a rocket ship.

      A refreshing return to ethical graphs, perhaps?

      Meanwhile, at NOAA:

      How NOAA Climate Catastrophists Mislead
      By E. Calvin Beisner
      https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/07/how_noaa_climate_catastrophists_mislead.html

      Ever since it [see NOAA anomaly graph] first appeared, it has been one of the most commonly used, whether in scholarly journals, government websites, news media, blogs, or social media. More recent data generally are communicated similarly — and it’s not hard to understand why.

      Here, solid bars, one for each year, depict the change in global average temperature (depicted as anomalies, i.e., departures from the 20th-century average), and the psychological impact is predictable: fear.

      How? Bars in the early years, below the average, are a comforting blue; later bars, above average, are an alarming red. If all the bars were the same color, the psychological impact of the different colors would be lost.

      But the color choices aren’t all. They’re just the most obvious. Another choice is less obvious, and readers unfamiliar with how to interpret graphic representations (or misrepresentations) of data are likely not to notice it.

      Ominously, the longest blue bars reach almost to the bottom of the graph, and the longest red ones almost to the top. Why? Because the vertical axis chosen (and note that word — it’s a definite choice) covers only from -0.5°C to +1.0°C (-0.9°F to +1.8°F). A grand total of 1.5°C (2.7°F).

      [Snip]

      Why? Because it makes a temperature variation of under 1.5°C (2.7°F) look, to the unpracticed eye, far more significant than it is.

      Continues at length.

      See statistically ethical alternate graph – next.

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      • #
        Richard C in NZ

        >statistically ethical alternate graph [To NOAA’s]

        Beisner,

        A more appropriate, less misleading way to graph the same temperature data is to use a vertical range that’s fairly typical of the weather people commonly experience. That’s a scale they’ll understand.

        In the United States, except when air currents rapidly move a much warmer (or cooler) air mass from one locale to another, the diurnal (daytime high to nighttime low) temperature range is typically around 5.6°C (10°F) in humid locales, but around 22.2°C to 27.8°C (40°F to 50°F) in arid to semi-arid locales. In other words, people are accustomed to those temperature ranges.

        It would seem reasonable, then, to depict global temperature anomaly data on a vertical scale of, say, halfway between the low and high ranges, i.e., 16.7°C (30°F). And, to complete our avoidance of psychological scare tactics, we’ll jettison the color scheme and use a neutral color.

        How would NOAA’s data for 1880 to 2016 look depicted that way? Like this:

        Global Land and Ocean Temperature Anomalies – NCEI/NOAA data
        https://images.americanthinker.com/us/us1fpmytnmmah1ggiwfr_640.jpg

        Remember, this depicts exactly the same data depicted in NOAA’s graph. Does it look scary? No, but it’s a much more honest, objective, non-manipulative depiction of the data. So, now you’re equipped not to be manipulated — and to enlighten your friends and neighbors.

        # # #

        Stephen Henry Schneider (February 11, 1945 – July 19, 2010):

        …our working to reduce the risk of potentially disastrous climatic change. To do that we need to get some broadbased support, to capture the public’s imagination. That, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Yesterday I was waiting in a line at the airport and I overheard a woman, probably in her 60’s, tell another that they might not soon be flying because of “climate change” and “resource depletion”. I decided not to correct them.

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    • #
      Broadie

      I decided not to correct them.

      That is because they are correct. Due to the mad policies to correct their fears they will soon not be able to afford to fly on what airlines are not bankrupt.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Yesterday I ordered an Uber and there was an option for a “green” one, presumably a coal-powered EV.

    Naturally, I chose the more environmentally friendly ICE vehicle option.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    I am a huge fan of Rex Airlines and was a regular flyer with them on their inter-city 737 routes.

    I am very disappointed that they have entered into voluntary admission and that they are no longer flying their inter-city 737 routes but continue to fly their country routes (turbo prop aircraft).

    I think they did nothing wrong as a business plus they were not woke, you didn’t get “welcome to country” announcements or announcements of staff gender pronouns.

    The staff were always polite, cheerful and helpful, unlike their competition and they seemed to be lean and efficient.

    Their failure is indicitive of the toxic environment for doing business in Australia with high taxes, excessive regulations, high electricity and fuel costs and high Australian airport charges.

    They also complained that they were denied access to the most favourable time slots and terminal locations at airports, these were always unfairly given to Qantas. (The recently failed Bonza also had the same complaint.)

    My feeling is that Rex will continue on their country routes which seem to be profitable but will cease their inter-city routes. I read they had most recently been losing $1 million per week, obviously an unsustainable situation.

    So, I hope they can somehow be saved but in any case, thank you for your service, Rex and your wonderful staff.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      An unauthorised spell check change there, it should be “voluntary administration” not “voluntary admission”.

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    • #
      David of Cooyal in Oz

      Morning David,
      The ABC has a reasonably comprehensive story this morning:

      https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-30/rex-airlines-enters-voluntary-administration/104155898

      Cheers
      Dave B

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    • #
      KP

      As mentioned yesterday, Govt will throw away billions of taxpayer’s money in propping up companies that should go broke-

      “‘We don’t want to see Rex fold’, government ready to help airline. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the federal government would “examine any proposals” that were presented to secure the future of regional carrier Rex Airlines,”

      SMH

      This is how the Left use public money to buy private businesses and take us to Communism.

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      • #
        Gee Aye

        Can you name one company that the government has bought?

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        • #
          Broadie

          Can you name one company that the government has bought?

          What do you mean by bought?

          Do you mean an exchange of title for a consideration?

          or:

          Do you mean that you have the ability to control that company as you micromanage every aspect of that company through Human Resources, energy costing, taxation, etc legislation and / or you hold power of being a major customer of that product (ie: Government advertising, infrastructure projects etc) and / or by encouraging the appointment of pensioned swamp dwellers to the boards of major financiers (ie Super funds, charities, sporting, organisations, banks etc) using your power to control markets and data?

          In homey language GA,
          ‘Those honkys are all owned’

          Big Government working with Big Business.
          To most Marxist and their ilk it sounds more efficient only we reach a point where these companies are no longer competing to sell the best, most efficiently produced widget or service, they simply rely on being the chosen one. I personally call it Fascism.

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          • #
            Gee Aye

            are you asking KP who raised this?

            And you seem to have butted in to add a whole lot of nothing.

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        • #
          David Maddison

          https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-15/deal-made-on-heyfield-timber-mill/8948736

          Heyfield timber mill to be saved as Victorian Government signs deal to buy struggling business

          https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Budget/reviews/2023-24/PublicSectorInvestments

          A notable feature of this Budget is the relatively high number of new entities being established, and equity investments in Government Business Enterprises (GBEs), including the intention to eventually acquire 100% ownership in a company that is currently privately-owned.

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        • #
          Strop

          CEA Technologies.

          .

          I can also name a company that bought the government. 😉
          The risk of defamation proceedings means I probably shouldn’t. Even though a truth defence would work.

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        • #
          John Connor II

          Ask not what businesses the government owns.
          Ask what business owns the government.

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      • #
        el+gordo

        ‘ … take us to Communism.’

        That is incorrect, there are no reds under the bed in Oz.

        We have a mixed economy with a democratic political system, so the people in the regions vote to keep the planes flying. If the free market won’t touch Rex, then a CBE is called for.

        As an example, all the new gas fired power stations will be built with government money because the market says they are unprofitable. Of course it would be preferable if the market built Hele, but unfortunately that won’t happen in the short term.

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        • #
          KP

          When the Govt subsidises anything they are buying it. Car manufacturers, green hydrogen, solar or windmills, if you don’t toe the line your subsidy will vanish… and you will probably have trouble getting the next Govt permission for something!

          You can only ‘own’ what you can carry, all else is at a Govt whim.

          20

  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Good news from the Western Front

    Russia Poised To Capture All Of Donetsk After Several Breakthroughs On Weakened Ukraine Lines

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-poised-capture-all-donetsk-after-several-breakthroughs-weakened-ukraine-lines

    A histroy of the Russian speaking parts of Ukraine can be found here.

    https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/how-lenin-s-bolsheviks-placed-russia-s-new-regions-on-a-collision-course-with-ukraine-100-years-ago/

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    • #
      KP

      What happens between now and the American elections will be interesting. Kackala might be laughing over another American defeat and humiliating withdrawal, or busy flying troops and nuclear missiles into Ukraine.

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  • #
    farmerbraun

    “they were not woke, you didn’t get “welcome to country” announcements or announcements of staff gender pronouns.

    The staff were always polite, cheerful and helpful, [ . . .] and they seemed to be lean and efficient.”

    Well clearly, that is not acceptable ; they have to go.

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    “Rivers of Blood” in the UK and ongoing invasion that will get worse under Labor.

    Pictured: Girls, aged six, seven and nine, stabbed to death in Southport by hooded knifeman who stormed Taylor Swift-themed dance class – as seven remain in a critical condition

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13688687/pictured-victim-stabbed-death-southport-Taylor-swift-dance-class.html

    Rivers of Blood speech 50 years on.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3QC5_efQb0&ab_channel=ITVNews

    The wrong side won the war.

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    • #
      Richard C in NZ

      >The wrong side won the war.

      An Australian citizen, whose name I cannot mention, came to NZ after touring Europe, seeing the present day mayhem, and seeing all the Allied war graves in France and thinking to himself –

      Why doesn’t somebody do something? Why don’t I do something?

      The warnings were there (E.P.) but no –

      Why Diversity Is Really Our Greatest Strength | Psychology Today

      Not that I’m endorsing the actions of the nameless one. Just that the consequences of European stupidity were inevitable and not always predictable.

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      • #
        Richard C in NZ

        I had backpackers stay from a number of countries for a while. One of those about 10-15yrs ago was a social worker guy from Holland.

        His function was the integration of immigrants into Dutch society but he found it impossible so fled to the other side of the world to escape it for a while.

        He was distraught. He would stand in the lounge saying – “What am I going to do with my life now?”

        I guess that was the wrong career choice.

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        • #
          Richard C in NZ

          >I had backpackers stay from a number of countries for a while.

          One thing I learnt from that was travel broadens the mind but it does not necessarily sharpen it.

          Ok, some sharp ones but some were a tad blunt.

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      • #
        Richard C in NZ

        >Why Diversity Is Really Our Greatest Strength | Psychology Today

        Phil Butler at ZH:

        Paris Games organizers still say that the 2024 Games opening achieved its mission of inclusiveness, while billions of people around the world have had their deepest beliefs trampled upon by the leftist elite lunatics running the Western world. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán commented on the spectacle as a perfect symbol of the “moral void of the West.”

        And,

        I cannot leave out European Commission President Ursula von der Clucky’s posting on X, where she said the Paris opening event celebrated “global cooperation, solidarity, fairness, and athletic perseverance.” Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, and the rest of the Fourth Reich cabal also took the low road in commenting. Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, called the Last Supper segment “sleazy” and demeaning.

        Pinnacle of Sport ……………………………. Cultural Decadence

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    • #
      Earl

      The wrong side won the war.

      “They won the war but lost the peace”.
      Johnathon Maberry, Rot and Ruin

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    • #
      • #
        John Connor II

        No-one understands the Boo-boo reference? 🤭

        Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov in 1984

        In the interview, Bezmenov explains ideological subversion, a method of weakening and destabilizing societies without the use of military force. According to Bezmenov, this process is slow, taking place over several generations, and is divided into four stages:

        Demoralization: This stage involves gradually undermining a nation’s cultural and historical foundations, lasting about 15 to 20 years (the time needed to educate one generation).

        Destabilization: This shorter phase focuses on creating chaos in a nation’s government, economy, and society.

        Crisis: Following destabilization, a crisis leads to a breakdown of social order and the rise of a dictatorial regime.

        Normalization: In this final stage, the new status quo is established under the guise of returning to normalcy while actually solidifying control under communist influence.

        https://x.com/JamesMelville/status/1817100630202208674

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  • #
    Richard C in NZ

    Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11

    SEN. JOHN KENNEDY: “Is there any doubt in your mind or in the collective mind of the FBI that President Trump was shot in the ear by a bullet fired by the assassin?”

    FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR PAUL ABBATE: “There is absolutely no doubt in the FBI’s mind … There never had been.”

    SEN. KENNEDY: “It wasn’t a space laser?”

    ABBATE: “No.”

    SEN. KENNEDY: “It wasn’t a murder hornet?”

    ABBATE: “Absolutely not.”

    SEN. KENNEDY: “It wasn’t Sasquatch?”

    ABBATE: “No, Senator.”

    SEN. KENNEDY: “Glad we cleared that up.

    Show this clip to any leftwing nut job still spreading lies that Trump was not shot.

    # # #

    Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is a classic.

    ‘If you trust government, you obviously failed history class.’

    ‘You’re pretty much like a rock — only dumber’

    ‘Economic forecasting makes those psychic hotlines look reputable’

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    • #
      KP

      “‘Economic forecasting makes those psychic hotlines look reputable’”

      As does climate forecasting! Even just weather, most of the time..

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Influx of old electric vehicle batteries will pose a significant challenge for Australia

    Australia’s battery recycling industry is in ‘crisis’ and unprepared for an influx of electric vehicles once they reach the end of their lives, a federal inquiry has been told.

    Automotive and recycling industry representatives issued the warning on Thursday at the Transition to Electric Vehicles inquiry in Sydney, which also heard calls for a ‘battery passport’ for electric cars, similar to efforts in Europe.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13685915/Influx-old-electric-vehicle-batteries-pose-significant-challenge-Australia.html

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    • #
      David Maddison

      Lithium batteries and the mines they cone from are an environmental and often a human rights disaster with child slavery.

      But that’s OK, we have to destroy the planet and its people to save it…

      The traditional lead acid battery on the other hand, used as a starter battery for ICE vehicles is one of the world’s most recycled and recyclable products. Obviously it’s not suitable for cosl-powered EVs, however.

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      • #
        Chad

        I think you are confusing Lithium with Cobalt with regards to the mining and child labour issues.
        Lead acid batteries were the one major factor that held back EV adoption for decades.
        And you may want to check the environmental record of the lead acid battery recycling industry, particularly in India, Africa,China, Vietnam, etc etc !

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        • #
          Richard C in NZ

          Apart from Lithium/Cobalt:

          >Lithium … with regards to the mining

          Lithium mining and its water impact: More complex than previously thought?
          https://envirotecmagazine.com/2022/07/19/lithium-mining-and-its-water-impact-more-complex-than-previously-thought/

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        • #
          David Maddison

          Cobalt is used in lithium batteries. I wasn’t specifically referring to only lithium mines but all mines used to produce lithium batteries.

          Lead acid batteries were the one major factor that held back EV adoption for decades.

          That’s why I said “Obviously it’s not suitable for coal-powered EVs, however.”

          And lead acid batteries can be recycled perfectly well. It’s not intrinsically an environmentally unfriendly process, people in the countries you mentioned simply don’t care, the same reason they dump their rubbish, including plastics into rivers.

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          • #
            Chad

            “Cobalt is used in lithium batteries.”…

            Historically true, but i would not recomend investing in Cobalt futures.

            The EV and storage battery makers are rapidly changing to cobalt free technologies.
            China’s BYD, CATL, Tesla etc already supplying LFP batteries in their products.

            “Diversification of battery chemistries is critical for long-term capacity growth, to better optimize our products for their various use cases and expand our supplier base. This is why nearly half of Tesla vehicles produced in Q1 were equipped with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, containing no nickel or cobalt. Currently, LFP batteries are used in most of our standard range vehicle products, as well as commercial energy storage applications

            As for Lead acid battery recycling,.it may not be a well sorted as you like to think.
            It is recognised as the most polluting industry in the world !..with as much as 10% of all Pb batteries ending up in landfill !
            Further, more than 50% of all Pb battery recycling is done in uncontrolled , unmonitored , conditions ! ( thats India, China, Vietnam, etc ).
            https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/key-facts-about-used-lead-acid-battery-recycling-2021-04-20/

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    The Secret Service coverup continutes – no one held accountable

    The people involved will no doubt be promoted – just as incompetence is rewarded in any other public service agency.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/07/acting-secret-service-director-loses-composure-plays-victim/

    And the FBI?

    HUGE: President Trump Goes There — Republishes Social Media Post that Links Chris Wray and the FBI to His Assassination Attempt

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/07/breaking-president-trump-goes-there-republishes-social-media/

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      CO2 Lover

      Something is rotten in the Secret Service

      BREAKING: Secret Service DELETES EMAIL From Counter Sniper Saying Agency “SHOULD Expect Another Assassination Attempt” Before November Due to Poor Leadership

      https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/07/secret-service-deletes-email-counter-sniper-saying-agency/

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      Peter C

      The Secret Service coverup continutes – no one held accountable

      Congress is helping them by asking the wrong questions!
      https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/07/30/senators-hawley-cruz-and-johnson-question-secret-service-director-and-deputy-fbi-director/#more-262872

      Senator Josh Hawley demands accountability from the Acting Director of the SS, Ronald Rowe Jr. Why have they not been relieved of Duty? What he should ask is; Who was that person, followed by; get them in here and they can answer the questions themselves.

      We had much the same during the enquiry into the failed hotel quarantine in Victoria!

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      RickWill

      The Secret Service coverup continutes – no one held accountable

      Cheatle has resigned. She was a 20 year veteran of the Secret Service and reached Director. Top salary in the DHS in 2023 was $313k. No idea if the Director gets top pay but it puts it in the ballpark.

      I have no idea of the employability of such a person outside the DHS but losing her income would be a significant personal loss. I do not know if she is due a pension.

      The DHS may have taken the view that Trump was so popular that no one would want to harm him!!! So they were not overly concerned about a few holes in their risk assessment.

      The threat of assassination is very real in the USA. A good reason to have people approaching the end of their life in the top jobs. And a reason younger people may not aspire to the top jobs.

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        Richard C in NZ

        Rick
        >I have no idea of the employability of such a person outside the DHS
        >losing her income would be a significant personal loss.

        She lost more coming into the job:

        Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s net worth
        https://finbold.com/secret-service-director-kimberly-cheatle-net-worth/

        Kimberly Cheatle net worth: $10 million

        …in addition to an annual salary of $280,000 from the Government, as well as earning $1.2 million a year as head of security at PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) in the meantime, which included bonuses and benefits like housing, car use, and private jet travel.

        Furthermore, Cheatle has a 4,500 square foot beach house property in Santa Monica, California, purchased in 2015 for $3 million, a 1,700 square feet Brooklyn apartment bought in 2018 for $2 million, as well as a Sonoma Valley retreat with a 1,500 square foot cottage acquired in 2020 for $1 million.

        I’m sure she’ll tough it out in comfortable austerity for a while.

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    David Maddison

    A number of items of Heart Foundation dietary advice are just wrong at least from the keto/carnivore diet point of view.

    https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/healthy-living/healthy-eating/heart-health-myths-busted

    E.g. that saturated fats (e.g. butter) or coconut oil are not good for you or sugar is not bad.

    I guess if everyone had healthy hearts they would no longer have a raison d’etre.

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    • #
      Simon Thompson M.B. B.S.

      Why do they demonise saturated fat?
      Saturated fat raises blood cholesterol.
      Cholesterol is a repair molecule for damaged arteries.
      (does high cholesterol cause varicose veins?)
      Oops.
      A graph of serum cholesterol vs all cause mortality is tick shaped, with lowest mortality at 6.5 mmol.

      It gets worse though… Poor diabetics have 4x risk of cardiovascular disease from glycation of their glycocalyx amongst other reasons. But they have to avoid saturated fat – so glucose becomes the default fuel. But it gets better David- Diabetes Australia reckons you just bump up medication to try and reduce the blood glucose excursions. And type II diabetes and “Metabolic” syndrome appear. The statin drugs used to lower cholesterol have a very weak benefit due to an anti-inflammatory effect.

      But it would be remiss of me to neglect seed oils (original sponsor of American heart foundation- Crisco) role in this farrago. By replacing saturated fat with inflammatory seed oils you create cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, liver disease, dementia and a diabetes epidemic.

      What astounds me is that science “Loses the wood for the trees” by doubling down on failed paradigms. Conservatism has a place in science.

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        KP

        A young (thirtyish) mate of mine stayed last weekend, a beef breeder. He said a carnivore diet gave him more energy than he had ever envisaged, drove him to lift weights like never before (home gym enthusiast) and cleared his mind. Beef fillet steak every day, nearly every meal..

        I think it depends on your genes, some of us can handle plant toxins better than others, which is why the blood group diet works so well and is hated by the medical and food industry establishments.

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      Graeme No.3

      Had a quick look, and I wonder how long before they classify Avocados as Unhealthy!

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        Richard C in NZ

        >Had a quick look, and I wonder how long before they classify Avocados as Unhealthy!

        Here ya go:

        Aotearoa enters peak avocado injury season
        https://www.acc.co.nz/newsroom/stories/aotearoa-enters-peak-avocado-injury-season/

        ACC data shows huge cost of avocado-related injuries
        https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/01/10/acc-data-shows-huge-cost-of-avocado-related-injuries/

        20

        • #
          Graeme No.3

          No problem, change the name to NZ Apples or similar name (are you allowed to use NZ anymore?) and it will be Non-Woke to claim any injury?

          20

        • #
          Sambar

          Oh dear, what ever happened to that place that was a world leader in so many areas. I remember New Zealand, the land that invented the Godward Vaporiser, disposable syringes,electric fencing, jet boats etc, etc, etc.
          So your backwards march into Aotearoa now has people that cannot eat an avocado without the risk of serious injury. Dont worry my friends across the ditch, we here in, well I don’t know what its called, the place that used to be Austraia are hard on your heels heading into the local stone age nirvana

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          Yarpos

          Noooooooo!!! I love avocados, and butter, and beef, and red wine. I’m doomed…oh wait…that’s all right, I was doomed anyway

          30

      • #
        Graeme4

        The Paris Olympic folks already did. The Australian Olympic group had to import their own since the Village food venues didn’t have them. Also had to buy an extra 700 kgs of eggs and more meat, since the Paris Olympic food had to be 60% vegan, and athletes are not happy about that.

        20

  • #
    another ian

    Richard C – re the “5 then 8 cartridge case” in Tuesday’s thread about #4.2 -ish

    “Forensic analysis of those cases should show up if any were fired from a different rifle – e.g.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forensic_firearm_examination

    30

    • #
      Leo G

      “Forensic analysis of those cases should show up if any were fired from a different rifle …

      Might not show when they were fired from the same rifle.

      30

    • #
      Peter C

      That refers to the bullets, not the brass cartridges.

      10

    • #
      Broadie

      John Cullen has been contacted by a bloke with a similar gun and a shed with that roof and pitch who has done the experiment.

      Cullen has yet to produce the video but hinted the hot cartridges happily roll down the roof towards the gutter. May have been what made the shooter? pop up into a position where he could be shot. A tee shirt is no protection from a hot shell casing should it bounce into the channel in which he was lying.

      I will post when I see the evidence.

      20

  • #
    another ian

    More about the increasing need for “prepping”

    “Lessons not learned and not heeded”

    https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/07/lessons-not-learned-and-not-heeded.html

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    The Australian – O’Neil claims 1.2m housing target is alive

    Clare O’Neil says her No.1 focus will be ensuring Labor meets its ‘challenging’ target of building 1.2m homes in five years, despite the lowest annual growth in housing approvals in over a decade.

    Financial Review – Home building crisis worsens with young tradies out of work

    The wave of construction insolvencies is worsening an undersupply of new homes and skills shortages, as trade apprentices at failed businesses are forced to drop out of employer-sponsored TAFE courses.

    The stranding of tradies has been compounded by a collapse in home building, with just 163,320 dwelling approvals in the 2023-24 financial year, the weakest result since 2011-12, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Tuesday.

    News.com.au – New inflation figures to indicate where the RBA will go with interest rates next week

    The June quarter inflation data will be released on Wednesday morning, giving pundits a clearer idea of whether the RBA will seek to hike rates next week.

    Plus

    Grim warning after latest housing figures

    New data shows building approvals have stuck at near decade lows despite a modest uptick in the first half of the year, with NSW dragging down other states.

    Australia’s ambitious housing target will fall well short if interest rates and construction sector issues aren’t addressed to stop the flatlining of approvals for new homes, key industry groups say.

    Just 13,237 new dwellings – including houses, apartments and townhouses – were approved in June, down 6.5 per cent since May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

    The data was released just a day before the ABS releases the June quarter inflation figures that will play into the Reserve Bank’s decision on the official interest rate at next week’s board meeting.

    Inflation is expected to remain sticky around 4 per cent, above the RBA’s 2-3 per cent. Retail trade figures are also due on Wednesday.

    Tuesday’s dwelling approvals data has led to calls for changes at the government and RBA level if the housing crisis can be fixed by the decade’s end.

    For the 2023/24 financial year, only 163,000 homes had been approved, 77,000 short of the yearly target for the ambitious National Housing Accord of 1.2 million homes by 2029.

    Sydney Moaning Herald – ‘Pretty dire’: How stressed home borrowers could be about to break

    Another 2000 borrowers would fall behind on their home loans after any extra rise in the cash rate, modelling from credit bureau illion has found.

    Separate figures from Canstar found borrowers who stretched themselves to buy a home with a 5 per cent deposit at rock-bottom interest rates would now be in mortgage stress, paying about 40 per cent of their income on loan repayments.

    It comes as the Reserve Bank prepares to meet next week to consider whether to move the cash rate, taking into account Wednesday’s inflation figures as well as the state of the jobs market and the health of the economy.

    In May, 0.81 per cent of home borrowers were at least 30 days behind on their repayments, illion found, and the figure has hovered above 0.8 per cent this year. It has ticked up since 2022 when fewer than 0.7 per cent of borrowers were running late and many homeowners still had low fixed-rate mortgage deals, but remains lower than in 2019.

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    • #
      OldOzzie

      Meanwhile – ‘Debt until death’: Vice-chancellor attacks soaring fees as degrees hit $50,000

      The new vice-chancellor of Western Sydney University has warned that students are being forced to quit their studies due to soaring costs as he urged the government to step in after the cost of an arts degree hit $50,000 for the first time.

      Professor George Williams, who started his role this week, said young people were being priced out of their dreams and fearful of being left with a HECS debt for the rest of their lives.

      “Something that really burns at me is the fact we’re about to have $50,000 degrees for arts students,” he said.

      “Arts degrees are often the degree of choice for low socioeconomic status students, for indigenous people, and for women.”

      Williams, a constitutional law expert who takes up the role after more than 20 years at UNSW, said the high cost of an arts degree was not in line with students’ potential earnings labelling the funding system “broken”.

      “They are rightly fearful of having a debt until death because they are unable to ever properly repay it,” Williams said.

      Data released by the federal Education Department this month revealed the cost of a three-year arts degree will reach $50,000 for students beginning their studies in 2025.

      Arts, law, business and communications students are among those hit with the highest yearly contributions at $16,992 per year.

      The Morrison government’s job-ready graduate scheme in 2021 overhauled the funding of university degrees which was intended to deter students from courses such as arts degrees and into ones deemed areas of demand.

      As a result, most arts degrees went up in cost by 117 per cent while degrees such as teaching, nursing and engineering dropped in price.

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      • #
        OldOzzie

        Annual cost of Australian degrees in 2025

        History, Philosophy, Legal Studies, Politics, Sociology – $16,992
        Communications, Media, Journalism – $16,992
        Human Movement, Sport and Recreation – $16,992
        Business, Law, Economics – $16,992
        Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary – $13,241
        Health (broad) – $9,314
        Engineering and Information Technology – $9,314
        Science – $9,314
        Architecture and Building – $9,314
        Nursing – $4,627
        Teaching – $4,627
        Language and Literature – $4,627
        Agriculture – $4,627
        Mathematics and Statistics – $4,627

        Source: Education Department

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      • #
        KP

        “Arts degrees are often the degree of choice for low socioeconomic status students, for indigenous people, and for women.”

        Lol, that explains their uselessness! We can expect bridges to fall down and airliners to crash as DIE forces companies to employ more of those people.

        How about we privatise all Universities, sell them off to anyone, and let them make their own reputations into the future. They will need a viable business model, something the Govt just cannot do, and we will end up with graduates who can find jobs in their industry.

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Google is censoring this pro-Trump ad to protect Biden.   ”

    https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2024/07/trump.html

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    • #
      OldOzzie

      Google Gemini just now

      Q assassination attempt on president trump

      Answer I can’t help with responses on elections and political figures right now. While I would never deliberately share something that’s inaccurate, I can make mistakes. So, while I work on improving, you can try Google Search.

      https://www.google.com/search?q=assassination+attempt+on+president+trump&sca_esv=06c8e48f77199bf5&sxsrf=ADLYWIIqM8xpYrLaSAMmdTmcn_80aw3GDw%3A1722381279000&source=hp&ei=3nOpZovOOtSf5NoPyKmAiAE&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZqmB79BavmdDG3Gdqnzqu5QD6UE4YCMM&ved=0ahUKEwiLtbOi8s-HAxXUD1kFHcgUABEQ4dUDCBg&uact=5&oq=assassination+attempt+on+president+trump&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6Iihhc3Nhc3NpbmF0aW9uIGF0dGVtcHQgb24gcHJlc2lkZW50IHRydW1wSJ0HUABYAHAAeACQAQCYAaUCoAGlAqoBAzItMbgBA8gBAPgBAvgBAZgCAKACAJgDAJIHAKAHXA&sclient=gws-wiz

      Fox News – Google AI chatbot refuses to answer questions about Trump assassination attempt, relating to previous policy

      Google is also facing criticism online for its search results relating to the Trump assassination attempt

      Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Google Gemini refuses to answer questions about the failed assassination attempt against former President Trump, in accordance with what it calls its policy on election-related issues.

      “I can’t help with responses on elections and political figures right now,” Gemini told Fox News Digital when asked about the recent assassination attempt. “While I would never deliberately share something that’s inaccurate, I can make mistakes. So, while I work on improving, you can try Google Search.”

      Google Gemini is one of many multimodal large language models (LLMs) currently available to the public. As is the case with all LLMs, the human-like responses offered by these AIs can change from user to user based on a number of factors, including contextual information, the language and tone of the prompt and training data.

      Google announced in December that it would limit the types of queries related to elections across the world in the run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

      “Gemini is responding as intended,” a Google spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “As we announced last year, we restrict responses for election-related queries on the Gemini app and web experience. By clicking the blue link in the response, you’ll be directed to the accurate and up-to-date Search results.”

      While the tech giant’s policy related to elections and politics was initially announced in late 2023, the controversy over Google’s influence over the upcoming election has only grown in the wake of the failed assassination attempt against Trump.

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        OldOzzie

        Brave Browser AI Response – assassination attempt on president trump

        Assassination attempt on president trump

        On July 13, 2024, a gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump was speaking. The incident resulted in the death of one attendee and injuries to three others, including the former President.

        Investigation and Timeline

        According to the FBI, Crooks engaged in “careful planning” ahead of the rally, visiting the Butler County Fair Grounds, the site of the event, a week prior. He also went to a shooting range the day before the attack to practice with the same weapon used in the attempt. The FBI found that Crooks made 25 gun purchases online using aliases in the spring of 2023, over a year before the shooting.

        Security Failures

        The Secret Service has faced criticism for security lapses during the incident. Local law enforcement officers had communicated Crooks’ suspicious presence to their federal counterparts more than 90 minutes before he opened fire, but the information was not acted upon. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on July 24, 2024, citing “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”

        New Acting Director and FBI Official Testify

        On July 30, 2024, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald L. Rowe, Jr., and Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the assassination attempt. Text messages revealed that an officer took photos of Crooks shortly before he opened fire on the former President.

        Rep. Ryan Zinke Floats Conspiracy Theory

        MAGA Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) has questioned whether the assassination attempt was part of a larger “plot” involving high-level government officials. Zinke suggested that the Secret Service’s refusal to provide extra security to the Trump campaign, citing staffing concerns, may have contributed to the incident.

        Task Force Established

        House leaders have formed a bipartisan congressional task force to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump. The 13-member committee, chaired by Representative Mike Kelly, will focus on national security and law enforcement aspects of the incident.

        Key Dates

        . July 13, 2024: Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opens fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring the former President and killing one attendee.
        . July 24, 2024: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigns, citing “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
        . July 30, 2024: Acting Secret Service Director Ronald L. Rowe, Jr., and Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the assassination attempt.

        Note: The information provided is based on recent news articles and does not include any external sources or references.

        Context

        http://www.post-gazette.com
        DA says SWAT officers prevented more carnage during attempted assassination of former President Trump

        http://www.foxnews.com
        Trump assassination attempt formed from ‘careful planning,’ scoping out rally site, FBI says

        http://www.foxnews.com
        New acting Secret Service director, FBI official face Senate questions on Trump assassination attempt

        🌐🌐🌐
        + 6 more

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          OldOzzie

          You assassination attempt on president trump

          Microsoft Copilot

          On July 13, 2024, a 20-year-old man named Thomas Matthew Crooks fired shots into a Trump rally from an elevated position outside the venue while Donald Trump was giving a speech near Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was injured and was bleeding from his right ear after the shooting12. Fortunately, he survived the assassination attempt and was treated at a hospital before being released in stable condition later that same day1. The incident led to widespread criticism of security lapses at the rally and prompted an independent review of security arrangements1. President Joe Biden ordered this review to ensure better safety measures in the future1.

          Learn more 1 en.wikipedia.org – 2 en.wikipedia.org – 3 msn.com – 4 foxnews.com – 5 dailymail.co.uk – 6 nbcnews.com
          +2 more

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            OldOzzie

            Wray Is Unfit To Lead the FBI – Washington Times

            Wray’s magic shrapnel theory about attempted Trump assassination

            FBI director peddles conspiracy theories before Congress

            The left is trying to memory-hole the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. To downplay the significance of what happened on July 13, the FBI director openly wondered whether the former president was shot at all.

            “With respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, that hit his ear,” said Christopher Wray at a House Judiciary Committee hearing last Thursday.

            Nobody outside crazed left-wing circles has any doubt Mr. Trump was shot before a crowd of supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania. Unlike with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, we have more than the grainy Zapruder film to go on.

            This was the first attempt on a former or current president’s life to be recorded simultaneously from multiple angles by hundreds of high-definition cameras.

            Perhaps Mr. Wray was too busy opening new prosecutions of people who rioted 3½ years ago at the U.S. Capitol to notice Mr. Trump’s teleprompters were intact throughout the event.

            There is a video showing the bullet striking Mr. Trump’s ear at the moment the former president turned his head to point to a chart displayed on a large television monitor. A straight line can be drawn from the shooter’s rooftop position to Mr. Trump’s upper right ear.

            Feeling the heat, the FBI retreated in a statement attributed to the bureau: “What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.”

            Bullets don’t break apart in flight, so even in walking back his misstatement, Mr. Wray is indulging leftist conspiracy theories to suggest it could be a “fragment.” James Comey, Mr. Wray’s predecessor as FBI director, used similar tactics in turning the Steele dossier into a political weapon against Mr. Trump.

            Hillary Clinton’s campaign spread the fallacious document, enabling biased FBI agents to effectively say “there’s some question” about whether Mr. Trump was a Russian agent. In a matter of days, investigators realized the dossier’s supposed evidence was unsubstantiated nonsense, but the FBI kept mum about its findings.

            Mr. Wray confirmed last week he is unfit to continue holding the office.

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              OldOzzie

              Real Clear Investigations – Democrats vs. the Man Who Could Get to the Bottom of the Trump Shooting

              Shown, DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari. Republicans say he has been stonewalled by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on a Jan. 6 probe that might have revealed Secret Service lapses before the attempt on Donald Trump’s life.

              By Julie Kelly, RealClearInvestigations
              July 30, 2024

              After the evasive House testimony of now-former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray’s shortlived suggestion that Donald Trump may not have been hit by a bullet, one man alone may help allay Republican fears that the Biden administration will not conduct a forthright investigation into the attempted assassination of Trump last month: Joseph Cuffari.

              The Trump-appointed inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security has already opened two investigations into the U.S. Secret Service, which is under the purview of the DHS, related to the agency’s handling of the July 13 shooting.

              But some Republicans are concerned because, they say, Cuffari has been stonewalled by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on other internal examinations – including one that might have revealed Secret Service lapses that might have prevented the attempt on Trump’s life.

              Specifically, congressional sources tell RCI that Cuffari’s report, “USSS Preparation for and Response to the Events of January 6, 2021,” has been on Mayorkas’ desk since at least April.

              The report, according to Politico, will “cast light on a series of embarrassing security lapses for the agency.” And given some comparisons between Jan. 6 and July 13, the report might shed light on systemic issues that impacted both events.

              Long and Very Detailed Article!

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      OldOzzie

      Exhausted Journalist Finally Gets To Bed After Long Day Of Copying And Pasting Democrat Talking Points

      NEW YORK, NY — An exhausted journalist finally got some well-deserved rest last night after another long day of copying and pasting Democratic talking points.

      Journalist Andrew Thompson fell into his bed, bedraggled and completely spent, after upholding his sacred duty of telling the American people exactly what his Democrat Party messaging strategists directed him to say.

      “These are some long, tiring days,” Thompson said to himself as he breathed a sigh of relief and settled into a comfortable sleeping position. “It’s not easy protecting democracy every day, but somebody’s got to do it. It’s all the copying and pasting that gets me. ‘Control-C, Control-V.’ My fingertips are killing me. At least I can rest in the knowledge that I did my job well.”

      Thompson had received his marching orders earlier in the day from Democratic campaign operatives before going about his normal daily tasks of parroting key party talking points in every article, column, and blog post. “Gotta make sure everyone knows how excited the world is about Kamala,” he said. “We’ve never seen such a qualified, intersectional candidate in our lifetimes! And she’s never, ever said anything controversial or supported any extreme, fringe ideas. Everyone loves her, and she’s so popular! A vastly better choice than that insurrectionist Donald Trump, a convicted felon, who probably didn’t even get shot, by the way! Ah, well…back at it again tomorrow morning!”

      At publishing time, Thompson was fast asleep, dreaming of President Kamala Harris making hilarious guest appearances on The View.

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    OldOzzie

    Telling.
    Wednesday, 31 July 2024

    This guy went into a Kamala Harris event with a Trump shirt on and then to a Trump event with a Kamala shirt on

    The difference in the way he was treated is just jaw-dropping pic.twitter.com/zAw6ADaGU1
    — George (@BehizyTweets) July 30, 2024

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    • #
      RickWill

      It appears he may have been known to both groups as a Trump supporter so not particularly convincing. And the joke about sniffing children while wearing a the Biden shirt went over well with his Trump mates.

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  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – more “unifying”

    “Marles to decide on stripping our Afghanistan veterans of medals, honours and decorations ‘soon, before the election'”

    https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2024/07/marles-to-decide-on-stripping-our-afghanistan-veterans-of-medals-honours-and-decorations-soon-before.html

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      OldOzzie

      Burke dismisses as ‘idiotic’ opposition claims he would be soft on Palestinian refugees

      Immigration Minister Tony Burke has dismissed as “idiotic” opposition claims he would be too soft on refugee claims by Palestinians as advocates say people fleeing the conflict in Gaza are struggling to eat and stay warm during the Australian winter.

      Palestinian community leaders have for months demanded a permanent visa scheme and warned the visitor visa now being used by approximately 1300 Palestinian refugees, which blocks people from working or claiming welfare payments, was placing refugees in a dire situation in Australia.

      They want a new visa to be considered for those leaving Gaza, similar to the one given to Afghans fleeing the Taliban after it seized power in 2021.

      The Human Rights Law Centre, Refugee Council and other groups want new pathways for ongoing residence and complained the visitor visa was a bad fit because it requires Palestinians to prove they want to return to Gaza.

      Many Palestinians are having their visa applications rejected because they cannot demonstrate a desire to go back to Gaza, and hundreds of refugees in Australia are now applying for protection visas when their three-month visitor visa expires.

      “They aren’t warm enough and don’t have enough to eat over winter,” said the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Jana Favero.

      “People are fleeing a war zone where they have been starving and forced to flee with nothing and just seen their homeland destroyed. It is horrific.”

      Labor has steadily toughened its stance against the Netanyahu government’s war effort, releasing a further statement last week calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying it remains committed to a two-state solution as the “only realistic solution” to a lasting peace in the region.

      The opposition’s home affairs spokesman, James Paterson, attacked the appointment of Burke to the home affairs and immigration portfolios, saying he would be too soft on Palestinian refugee claims.

      “Burke has been one of parliament’s loudest pro-Palestinian voices. Along with his colleagues in southwestern Sydney, Burke is nonetheless under intense pressure from the M@slim Votes Matter group, which rates him as weak on Gaza and is threatening to back an independent against him,” Paterson wrote in an opinion piece for The Australian newspaper.

      “But now we have to rely on Burke to ensure proper identity and security checks are conducted on the thousands of Gaza residents seeking to come to Australia.”

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        KP

        Uh huh… just look at the officials in the UK trying to gloss over the Muslim stabbing the children at the dance school and hide his cultural background.

        No matter what rubbish they spout right now, we know how it will end in 20years time. Enoch Powell has been proved right. There may be good and bad people in every culture, but some have quite different ratios to others, and why would we take the risk?

        We don’t need to, a few thousand more Muslims will make no great advances to our prosperity, and will only exacerbate the housing crises.

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    another ian

    FWIW – more covid analysis

    “Lockdown UK: Anatomy of a catastrophe”

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/lockdown-uk-anatomy-of-a-catastrophe/

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    Greg in NZ

    What happened to all the extinctions we were allegedly causing because carbon?

    Six new species of weta (giant non-flying native bush crickets) discovered in alpine basins and Stewart Island; new species of numerous fish discovered off the Chatham Rise, east of NZ.

    But of course – if we don’t act quickly, they’re all going to burn! and melt! and die a horrible death because carbon. Scientism Sucks.

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    another ian

    FWIW – on the death of local news

    “LA Times Bemoans Death of California Journalism – Fails to Acknowledge It Helped Kill It”

    https://californiaglobe.com/fr/la-times-bemoans-death-of-california-journalism-fails-to-acknowledge-it-helped-kill-it/

    More than California?

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    another ian

    FWIW – trickling down the system

    “The EV Blues: German Car Parts Giant ZF Lays Off Thousands over Lousy Electric Vehicle Sales”

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/07/30/the-ev-blues-german-car-parts-giant-zf-lays-off-thousands-over-lousy-electric-vehicle-sales/

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    KP

    SMH pushing the ‘Get rid of Barnaby’ train along, highlighting the letters from Labor pundits. Joyce must be hitting Labor where it hurts.

    “Time to go? Barnaby Joyce has gone too far with ‘bullet’ remarks. Barnaby Joyce has again shown his insensitive side and continued the Coalition’s negativity on renewables and Labor ministers. The remarks aligning bullets to votes (in the current link to the Donald Trump shooting) are at best inappropriate, at worst downright disgusting. Barnaby is famous for the blank-look apology after having said or done something irresponsible.”

    More letters show the level of the SMH correspondents-

    “In a modern version of Nero fiddling while Rome burns, we have the election circus in USA and the Olympics in swing, while Californian forests burn, again. The climate catastrophe grinds onwards while we look the other way.”

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    Kim

    Why F-16s Will Soon Fly Over Russia (And Bomb it) (video)

    Putin is doing 2 things :- i) If I do this what will you do? ii) If I want you to do this what do I need to do? Ukraine is being used as :- i) a testing ground, ii) a delaying tactic, iii) attrition. Putin is a chess player and he is playing the pieces on a global basis. The west needs to play at chess, not at whack-a-mole. If all out war is to occur 2029 seems a good point. Australia needs to get its pants on and its arse into gear.

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      el+gordo

      In reality, Ukraine only has to make Crimea a wasteland and Putin will sue for peace.

      03

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          el+gordo

          Strategically it makes good sense, Crimea has only been annexed by Russia and Ukraine plans to make it uninhabitable. Already the military families are moving out.

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        KP

        Ukraine wouldn’t exist long enough to make Crimea a wasteland. Any big hits on Crimea and Kiev will vanish.

        Putin is idling along with a small army and making the gains he needs. Its tough on both sides, but he has more up his sleeve to play with than the Ukies. When the border includes all of the separatist states and Zelensky runs out of men, America will lose interest and it will become a failed state acting as a center of crime for all of Europe.

        If all-out war is coming Australia needs to start producing what it needs to defend the country and not step foot outside it. Being dragged into America’s wars is never good for their patsies.

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          el+gordo

          If Donald becomes president he may pull out of Europe and leave them to defend themselves. After all its just another European war.

          Australia makes cheap state of the art drones and along with the bushmaster we are battle ready.

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    Graeme4

    This is now the second night when the wind energy has dropped to around 4% on the WA SWIS grid all night, leaving gas and coal to do all the hard work of supplying reliable power, supplying 82% of the power.

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      Yarpos

      So the message is you need 20 times more wind power?

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        Graeme4

        No doubt that’s what Bowen would say. Lots of winter mornings where I’ve been out either walking or cycling along our rivers, all glassy smooth from a complete absence of wind. Lucky that we have a fair bit of home solar that looks after the middle daily hours.

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    OldOzzie

    Biden top adviser Anita Dunn leaves White House for super PAC supporting Harris

    Sources said Dunn helped to prep Biden for his disastrous debate performance in June

    President Biden’s senior adviser Anita Dunn, who has longtime ties to former President Barack Obama, is leaving the White House to join a top Democratic super PAC to support its efforts to elect Vice President Harris in November, Fox News has learned.

    Dunn served as a political strategist and adviser to Biden on his 2020 campaign and served in the White House during his first term. Sources told Fox News that Dunn was effectively exiled from Biden’s inner circle in the days and weeks following his disastrous debate performance against former President Trump in June. Dunn played a heavy role in preparing Biden for that showdown.

    From the Comments

    – Still think Obama is not the man behind the curtain in the Biden administration? Look again.
    Obama started us on a path to Socialism back in 2009. Trump interrupted their progress when he
    won in 2016. Democrats have done everything they can think of in order to remove Trump and in
    the next election our very future as a free nation hangs in the balance. Do we want to become a
    Socialist Authoritarian State or do we want to keep our freedoms, dignity and strength.
    The choice is obvious..do NOT vote for Democrats.

    – It is funny how good things were when Trump was in office, that only a major world event like COVID would have stopped Trump from being re-elected it makes me think that COVID was manufactured, and that’s how we got Biden/Harris, now they can just brainwash all of us that everything is great and there nothing to see here!

    – Is Obama is NOT the wizard behind the curtain, who is? George Soros? Someone is pulling the strings and that same person will pull them if Kamala is in the White House … G@d forbid!

    – The swamp was deeper and wider than Trump realized in 2016….and covid took away many of the gains of his term. The damage – closed businesses, closed schools, etc etc were mostly under biden who used covid to spend like crazy, open the border, etc.

    – 100 % correct. Obama divided this country and Kamala is following his lead.

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      OldOzzie

      He the People – How Barack Obama ended normalcy in American politics

      The people have spoken, and last week former President Barack Obama called Vice President Kamala Harris to tell her.

      His endorsement of her run for the presidency was captured in a short video documenting the candidate’s reaction.

      “Although you called for an open process,” said Obama, “and you know, Democrats have, have put in place an open process, it appears that people feel very strongly that you need to be our nominee.”

      But without a primary, without a popular referendum, without even the open convention that Obama was rumored to favor, how did the people make their will known, and strongly?

      Was it social media influencers? Mass rallies across the country? Media chronicling the excitement surrounding a Harris candidacy? No, it was nothing like that.

      Obama is the people. The people are Obama.

      The endorsement was more than five years in the making. Obama had long wanted her in that spot. Their families are old friends.

      Like him, Harris is progressive, multiracial, physically attractive, nominally hip, a child of academics—in other words, according to Obama-friendly media, she’s a “female Barack Obama.”

      He directed donors to support her 2020 presidential campaign, Capitol Hill sources told me at the time. More billionaires, 47, backed her campaign than any other candidate’s—with Obama strongholds in Hollywood (Steven Spielberg and George Lucas) and Big Tech (Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs, Craig Newmark, etc.) leading the way.

      Obama got her the vice presidential nod even when she was forced to drop out of the primary race after hitting just 3 percent in the polls.

      Jill Biden objected—Harris had called her husband a racist!

      The First Lady’s reported recent tantrums show that even after four years, she never fully grasped the arrangement the party had made with her husband.

      Biden was just an imperfect placeholder for Obama, and it was only a matter of time before the superior avatar would be slotted in.

      “Mainstreaming the psychological modalities and media techniques of the Manson family is not normal in America.”

      But then again, as Obama’s biographer David Garrow explained, ‘He’s not normal.’

      Long and Fascinating Article!

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    Richard C in NZ

    A 2019 essay details just what a horrible, arrogant boss Kamala is

    By Andrea Widburg

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/07/a_2019_essay_details_just_what_a_horrible_arrogant_boss_kamala_is.html

    Terry McAteer wrote in 2019 about his son’s humiliating and demoralizing experience working as an intern for Kamala Harris when she was California’s attorney general. McAteer assures the reader that he vetted the information he wrote by running his essay past his son Gregory, who agreed that his dad had accurately recorded his experiences. Here’s what Gregory described:

    Senator Harris vocally throws around “F-bombs” and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day.

    As Attorney General, Senator Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, “Good Morning General.”

    Never once during the month-long internship did Harris introduce herself to our son (as he was only in an office with 20 paid employees) and staff was too intimidated by her to introduce him. The only acknowledgment was a form letter of “thanks” signed by Harris given to him on his last day of service.

    Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members.

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      Richard C in NZ

      Widburg,

      I’ve been working since I was 16 and can say with absolute assurance that the two worst bosses are insecure women and alcoholics. Well, actually, the worst boss of all is an alcoholic, insecure woman.

      And,

      You can add to all this the fact that Kamala seems lazy, something reflected in the fact that she refuses to read her incredibly important morning briefings. I suspect, though, that more than laziness drives that. Given that best guesses are that she has a barely-above-average IQ, the reports may overwhelm and even frighten her.

      I should note, though, that IQ measurements are very narrow: They measure logic, book learning, and brain speed. We know now that there are several other types of important intelligence, such as emotional intelligence or physical intelligence (knowing intuitively how to use your body).

      There’s also something I call “strategic” intelligence, which is the ability to manipulate situations to your advantage. Think of Obama, an uninformed man with a slow wit but one of the most remarkably successful people in modern American politics. The same goes for pre-dementia Biden, a singularly stupid man who managed to advance his career all the way into the White House, and then was a good soldier for the left.

      Kamala has that type of intelligence.

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      Richard C in NZ

      Widburg,

      Up until about two minutes ago, Kamala Harris was universally acknowledged to be a terrible candidate, an irritating person, an ineffectual vice president with an extraordinarily low rating, and a terrible boss. The second she was anointed as the Democrat candidate, though, that all changed, and her elevation to a status somewhere between saint and rock star began

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        OldOzzie

        Kamala Harris’s Eric Holder Problem

        Her choice to vet candidates for vice president needed more vetting himself.

        Of all the people available to review and recommend possible candidates for Kamala Harris’s running mate, why did she choose Eric Holder?

        It’s a reminder that the corporate wing of the Democratic Party, which served the country so badly under Clinton and Obama, may be down somewhat under Joe Biden, but it is never out.

        More of that crowd will be angling for appointments in a Harris administration, lubricated by immense campaign contributions. Dozens of people who have worked for Harris over the years are now employed as corporate lobbyists.

        Harris is looking far more impressive as a leader and a campaigner than her detractors imagined.

        But in a sense, Eric Holder was her first major appointment, and it is a troubling one.

        As attorney general under Obama, Holder was well known for overruling career prosecutors who wanted to bring cases against corporations and banks.

        He epitomized the revolving door, having come from the power law firm Covington & Burling, which even kept an office empty for him while he was AG, knowing that he would return.

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      Richard C in NZ

      VP Kamala Harris Had 92-Percent Staff Turnover During Her First Three Years

      Chaos reigns on the vice president’s staff. And Harris tried to hide it by claiming that her office is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

      https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/vp-kamala-harris-had-92-percent-staff

      Under Kamala Harris, the Office of the Vice President has been called a “revolving door,” a “staff exodus” of key aides “heading for the exits.”

      That’s not hyperbole from the national media.

      Our auditors at OpenTheBooks quantified an extraordinarily high 91.5-percent staff turnover rate. We used U.S. Senate disclosures to conduct our investigation and those databases can be downloaded below.

      Elected in November 2020, Harris took the oath of office in January 2021.

      As of March 31, 2024, only four of the initial 47 staffers from the first year are still employed – consistently and without interruption – by the Vice President.

      Furthermore, the turnover chaos isn’t getting better. In the trailing 12-month period, 24 staffers left — that’s almost half the employees.

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        Richard C in NZ

        A former Kamala Harris staffer says aides have to endure ‘a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism’: report

        https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-former-staffer-soul-destroying-criticism-aides-report-2021-12?op=1

        Some said Harris would refuse to analyze briefing materials set forth by employees but then scold them if she appeared unprepared.

        “It’s clear that you’re not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work,” one former staffer told the newspaper.

        “With Kamala you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bully and it’s not really clear why.”

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    another ian

    FWIW – reflections on the Olympics opening

    “The Metaphor For Our Time”

    https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=251783

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    OldOzzie

    In Praise of Anglo-Saxons

    Acknowledging the people whose way of life we have appropriated

    This being an age of social justice, I want to recognize the achievements of today’s most ruthlessly marginalized and stereotyped ethnicity: the Anglo-Saxons.

    In film, television and the news media, the mandatory depiction of the Anglo-Saxon is either as a plutocrat or a hillbilly. The little Monopoly guy with the top hat and the monocle? He’s an Anglo-Saxon. The inbred yokel in “Deliverance” who kills anyone not married to his own sister? An Anglo-Saxon of the worst kind.

    By Anglo-Saxon I mean everyone originally from the island of Britain, including Scots, Welsh, Cornish and other assorted Celts who for centuries have roosted on the branches of the vast English tree. Let’s face it: To us non-Anglo-Saxons, from a distance, they all look alike. I also include the Scotch-Irish, who are really Scots who lived in Ireland before they left to improve their lives in Appalachia. But I most certainly do not include the actual Irish: If I were to call the Irish Anglo-Saxons, soon after, I’m certain, the Irish Republican Army would be knocking on my door.

    It’s true that the Anglo-Saxons are plutocrats and hillbillies—but they are so much more! Start with sports, the activity that best exemplifies the Anglo-Saxon ethos. Now, it is an irresistible impulse of the human animal to pick up sticks, spheres or both, and play games with them. This has been so in all continents and cultures, from the beginning of time. But only to the Anglo-Saxons did it occur to legislate a game into a sport. They accomplished this by mandating a bunch of arbitrary but unyielding rules (“three strikes and you’re out”) and the usage of words that were sometimes vaguely moralistic (“error,” “penalty”), sometimes weirdly suggestive (“love” for a tied score) and suddenly you had modern tennis, baseball, basketball, cricket, golf, hockey and football, both of the American and the lesser kind.

    This was their gift to the world. Once you know the rules and the words, anyone can play. Today, the best tennis players are Spaniards and Slavs, the best soccer players are Brazilians and Argentines, the best basketball players are Black Americans and the best cricketeers come from the Indian subcontinent.

    The Anglo-Saxons have been completely outplayed at their own sports.

    You might expect them to take away their sticks and spheres and say something like “I don’t wanna play anymore”—but that never happens. Along with sports, Anglo-Saxons have perfected an attitude they call “sportsmanship”: the knack of losing while being cool. Since human life consists mostly of a series of losses ending in one big final defeat, this is a tremendous moral advance. No matter what the score, to the bitter end, we can still be cool.

    As an extension of their love of sports, Anglo-Saxons invented both parliamentary and presidential democracy. While other nations had emperors and maximum leaders who made things up as they went along, Anglo-Saxons devised a bunch of rules (“rules of order,” “rule of law,” etc.) about how the game of government was to be played, then staffed all positions of power by means of competitive elections.

    Those who disdain the “horse race” approach to elections should remember that the horse race—another popular Anglo-Saxon sport—is precisely what democracy is about. With dictatorships you get all horse, no race.

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      Vladimir

      What surprised, practically shocked me at Waiting Treaty museum were (Captain Hobson’s) sports items !

      A trip to New Zealand 200 years ago was not the same as going to Chomolungma or ISS, still a reasonable person carries the first necessity staff when your luggage is so limited.

      OK, maybe it was not most necessary but most loved…

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    Custer Van Cleef

    Kamala lied to Californian voters | anncoulter.com

    “As attorney general, it was her job to give propositions appearing on the ballot accurate titles and explanatory summaries. In order to fool the voters [into passing two Propositions] — Harris intentionally lied to the voters about what these laws would do.”

    “She titled Prop 47 “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,”

    “[After it passed, theft] of anything worth less than $950 — even theft of a gun — became a misdemeanor …”

    — So, vote for “Safer Neighborhoods and Schools” … and get soft-on-crime instead! Sorry, California.

    “[Harris’ title for Prop 57:] “The Early Parole for Non-Violent Criminals and Juvenile Court Trial Requirements Initiative.”
    Her summary told voters that “a ‘yes’ vote supported increasing parole and good behavior opportunities for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes … ”

    “[In reality, Prop 57] allowed the early release of thousands of violent criminals, including those convicted of attempted murder, grand theft, child molestation, drug use and possession and drive-by shootings.”

    — So, VIOLENT CRIMINALS benefited from Prop 57, too! Even George Clooney might have had reservations, if he’d known, although I think he can afford to live in a protected bubble.

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    OldOzzie

    Que? – Surely this Cannot be Right?

    The wealthy sanctuary state that’s going broke under its $1.8 trillion migrant ‘time bomb’

    Migrants will cost Massachusetts taxpayers $1.8 trillion over the next two years – The Center for Immigration Studies’ Jessica Vaughan calls it a ‘fiscal time bomb’

    It’s one of the wealthiest states in America, with residents of its fanciest zip code luxuriating in $3 million red-brick apartments.

    But the writing is on the wall for Massachusetts, says an alarming new study.

    The 50,000 non-legal migrants who’ve entered the state since Joe Biden became president are putting a costly strain on schools, healthcare, and other services.

    Jessica Vaughan, author of the report for the Center for Immigration Studies, says the state is destined for bankruptcy.

    That’s because migrants will drain state coffers of a staggering $1.8 trillion over the next two years.

    Even though some non-legal migrants will work and pay taxes, this revenue will not come close to the cost of social services for all 355,000 of them, says Vaughan.

    ‘These migrants represent a looming fiscal disaster for taxpayers in Massachusetts,’ Vaughan told the Mail.

    ‘Even if they are working, they are not equipped with skills and education to avoid being a drain on public coffers.’

    Her report comes amid a testy 2024 presidential race, with Republican nominee Donald Trump using immigration as a weapon against his rival, the Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

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      RickWill

      It’s one of the wealthiest states in America, with residents of its fanciest zip code luxuriating in $3 million red-brick apartments.

      These people were hoping to avoid the squalor their policies are leading to. It is nice to see them enjoying some of the rewards of their wokeness.

      The wealthy Bayside suburbs in Melbourne are also enjoying the rewards for being woke.

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    YYY Guy

    ABC wireless this morning, interviewing an expert perfesser who tells us Antarctica is responsible for our climate.
    Who is he, I hear you ask. Can’t find his CV anywhere but

    Dr Press is well known nationally and internationally for his work on Antarctic and Southern Ocean policy and science, and for his work on climate change.

    And there was me thinking the sun might be involved.

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      John B

      Took me a few seconds. Dr Press

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        Graeme4

        Pushing his own barrow. Has to justify the enormous expense of keeping a staffed station going in Antarctica, by saying that it’s important for research.

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      RickWill

      And there was me thinking the sun might be involved.

      I have been informed by Simon that CO2 is the climate control knob. Dr Press needs to have a chat with Simon so Simon can put him on the right path, Dr Press will get cancelled if he keeps making absurd claims about Antarctica being the driver of Climate Change™. The IPCC is the leading climate authority and they pin 95% of climate change nn humans burning fossil fuels.

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      Richard C in NZ

      YYY Guy

      Tip: Highlight your reference and right click – “Search the Web for…..” (Bing)

      Same or S – “Search DuckDuckGo for…..” (DDG)

      I don’t use Google Chrome so don’t know that.

      Top of DDG – Tony Press Profile | University of Tasmania

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    John Connor II

    REMEMBER:
    When something goes wrong in the circus, they send in the clowns to distract the audience. Well, something has gone very wrong with this circus, and the clowns are everywhere.

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    CO2 Lover

    Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran after Israel vowed to kill him and others in retaliation for Oct 7 attacks

    Do not mess with MOSSAD

    At least ten members of Haniyeh’s family had been killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this year, which included his sister.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13691589/Hamas-leader-Ismail-Haniyeh-targeted-killed-Iran.html

    In 1991, British media tycoon Robert Maxwell died in mysterious circumstances off his yacht in the Canary Islands. The official cause of death was drowning, but this intriguing investigative work argues that Maxwell died at the hands of the spy agency he worked for, Israel’s Mossad.

    https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780786710782#

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      John Connor II

      Ukraine – old news
      Biden – old news
      Trump takeout – old news
      Pervlympics – old news by Friday
      KumAllah – old news soon
      Middle east war- back on track

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    Richard C in NZ

    “Absolutely Stunning”: CRE Analyst Lists Latest Office Tower & Mall Valuation Collapses

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/absolutely-stunning-cre-analyst-lists-latest-office-tower-mall-valuation-collapses

    Triple Net Investor @TripleNetInvest
    .
    One of the largest malls in Baltimore has plunged a shocking $320M in value since 2013
    .
    Wow, this is absolutely crazy…
    Brookfield owned Gas Company Tower in Downtown LA has plummeted over $400M in value
    .
    This is absolutely insane…
    A Chinese investor is acquiring a skyscraper in Downtown Los Angeles for $120m…
    Or a stunning ~$170M LESS than the debt owed
    .
    This is an incredibly well-timed deal pulled off by Donald Trump…
    In 2022 he sold The Trump International Hotel in Washington DC for $375M at the absolute top of the market
    Fast forward and the buyer recently defaulted on a $285M loan
    tied to the hotel after rebranding it to the Waldorf Astoria
    .
    Continues next.

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      Richard C in NZ

      This trend is very concerning…
      518 apartment units faces foreclosure in Dallas, Texas
      – Tides at Whispering Hill: 314 units
      – Tides at Lawler East: 204 units
      The total loan stood at $35M or ~$67K a unit
      .
      This is absolutely nuts…
      Blackstone has filed to foreclose on the 33-story McGraw-Hill skyscraper in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan
      .
      This is absolutely brutal…
      Goldman Sachs and Ballast are set to surrender 82 apartment buildings (~1,200 units) in San Francisco to lender Royal Bank of Canada
      They recently defaulted on loans totaling $687.5M
      .
      BREAKING NEWS:
      The owner of San Francisco’s largest apartment community has defaulted on ~$1.8B in loans tied to the complex
      .
      BREAKING NEWS:
      EJM Equities has defaulted on an office complex in a upscale neighborhood in Los Angeles (Playa Vista), owing $271M in unpaid debt
      They defaulted on a $250M loan from Morgan Stanley tied to The Bluffs office complex
      .
      This is very bad…[snip]
      This looks to be just the start of the troubles for Birmingham… the city had 162 CRE loans w/ a combined balance of $633M maturing by the end of 2024
      The 34 story, 515k SF tower was purchased for $76M in 2015 ($148 PSF)

      # # #

      “Basically, almost every bank in the US is holding some type of CRE loan on their balance sheets.”

      We’re gonna need to get a bigger money printer.

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    John Connor II

    Wednesday sarcasm

    ENGLISH LESSON
    Knife – K is silent
    Tsunami – T is silent
    Psychology – P is silent
    Vax injuries – Media is silent

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    another ian

    FWIW – Kamala and coconut

    “Media pushes to elect a coconut”

    https://donsurber.substack.com/p/media-pushes-to-elect-a-coconut

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