tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91082096747201699882024-03-18T21:04:37.637+11:00Grappy's Soap BoxGrappy's Soap Box is a Blog about social and political issues in Australia and the World. It covers a wide range of subjects that take centre stage in a our daily discourse. The blog focuses on high level review and commentary and loos to identify trends that drive change in our society.
The topics covered include; politics, climate change, media, immigration, social equity, trade unionism, free enterprise, education, COVID pandemic, energy production, AI, Free Speech, and technology. Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-22767099701013560782024-03-18T20:18:00.002+11:002024-03-18T21:04:06.372+11:00Questioning the Climate Catastrophe dogma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdh2qwFcMXJa-lS4XFuIS7DSwEF1oNOJWUeRAzR5QS9dmQ6YACFQDHeNZojd9JVWFpX1ZOcTR3Sl_h4cL7qP2p5Y4zHzoR1DK_wUbGaUZj5njeutvUeYkIoyv6-rAPdGCfXlUlRTkJHHRk7srS-aI6e5PypRLdnkZicXtOW9UU1w72OTPdl5b3hWIuS-d/s1197/climate-change-istock-telman-bagirov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="1197" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdh2qwFcMXJa-lS4XFuIS7DSwEF1oNOJWUeRAzR5QS9dmQ6YACFQDHeNZojd9JVWFpX1ZOcTR3Sl_h4cL7qP2p5Y4zHzoR1DK_wUbGaUZj5njeutvUeYkIoyv6-rAPdGCfXlUlRTkJHHRk7srS-aI6e5PypRLdnkZicXtOW9UU1w72OTPdl5b3hWIuS-d/s320/climate-change-istock-telman-bagirov.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Is the wind changing on Climate change zealotry? It started with the Russia-Ukraine war when much of Europe realised that renewables plus imported gas were not a very practical way of powering a modern economy. As a consequence, we have had rapid and concerted moves to refresh old coal mines, import gas and coal from sources other than Russia and renewed investment in nuclear. Green parties in several countries have re-classified nuclear energy as, lets call it, 'Green', but I am not sure whether they actually called it 'renewable'. I guess this is no worse than advocating the burning of wood, be it re-constituted shaved, pulverized and compressed, but still plain old wood to you and me, as a renewable resource. After all, it does renew even if it happens to take decades or even hundreds of years. Of course, the same argument could be used to classify coal as renewable, but then again the periods are admittedly an order of magnitude longer.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So perhaps it is not surprising, that the 'science' behind the Climate Zealotry is also under pressure. Articles that question the very basis of Climate Change are beginning to break the defensive wall that has prevented even minor criticism of climate catastrophist dogma. The most recent that caught my eye is a rather in-depth article in the Epoch Times. The title is provocative enough <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/prominent-scientists-challenge-key-data-underlying-climate-change-agenda-5593800" target="_blank">Scientists Expose Major Problems With Climate Change Data</a>. The article lists several scientists who signed a petition called the European Climate Declaration, sceptical of human-induced global warming.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A small move but significant in its very existence.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-61184227797421674872024-03-07T23:22:00.000+11:002024-03-07T23:22:19.665+11:00The Electric Con Explained - William Levin<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXiStJgdIdNA7pR0TqQK5aFpkh8kaY5FyIcSsF-DpPDKjeXeweA8Jnzr-NAC7OB2ZM3mZBtXfHFJzTHVlHFylc4_801Ob4SxDDXP0zIk-L-8zb9oVR_T3xmuLaJPp4o2GaMyxdtXBuk7QzZbjvBRqqzXk880poyIJ4dGLipaZ1-HASIfHMO1Y9IpbXRGh/s1024/Designer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXiStJgdIdNA7pR0TqQK5aFpkh8kaY5FyIcSsF-DpPDKjeXeweA8Jnzr-NAC7OB2ZM3mZBtXfHFJzTHVlHFylc4_801Ob4SxDDXP0zIk-L-8zb9oVR_T3xmuLaJPp4o2GaMyxdtXBuk7QzZbjvBRqqzXk880poyIJ4dGLipaZ1-HASIfHMO1Y9IpbXRGh/s320/Designer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">In <a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/01/the_electric_car_con_explained.html">The Electric Car Con Explained</a> William Levin exposes some inconvenient facts for the Climate Change zealots who are promoting electric cars as a solution to car emissions.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">Here’s a short summary (courtesy Bing) but please follow the link above for the full article.</span></div><div><div aria-description="" class="content" tabindex="0"><div class="ac-container ac-adaptiveCard"><div class="ac-textBlock"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">The U.S. car fleet accounts for only <strong>1.0%</strong> of global energy demand (5% x 19%), which is projected to decline to <strong>0.8%</strong> by 2050.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">Even if the U.S. transitions to </span><strong style="font-family: times;">100% electric-powered cars</strong><span style="font-family: times;">, the maximum climate impact in 2050 would be a mere </span><strong style="font-family: times;">0.2%</strong><span style="font-family: times;"> reduction in global CO2 emissions from the current electric grid.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">This impact could increase to a maximum of </span><strong style="font-family: times;">0.5%</strong><span style="font-family: times;"> if solar, wind, and hydro can power </span><strong style="font-family: times;">60%</strong><span style="font-family: times;"> of electric demand, which is unlikely due to practical challenges.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><strong style="font-family: times;">Government mandates</strong><span style="font-family: times;"> to switch to electric cars lack a factual basis for a significant impact on global CO2 emissions.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times;">While Levin acknowledges that EVs have their place, he notes market distortions caused by subsidies and regulatory force are problematic, especially when EVs don’t suit most personal-vehicle needs outside urban areas.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: times;"><a aria-label="1: " class="ac-anchor sup-target" data-citationid="79426791-ec76-f6dc-0fe4-65a1776dc947-19" h="ID=SERP,5015.1" href="https://hotair.com/headlines/2024/01/11/the-electric-car-con-explained-n604365" target="_blank"><sup class="citation-sup">1</sup></a><a appearance="system-link" class="ac-anchor" h="ID=SERP,5015.1" href="https://hotair.com/headlines/2024/01/11/the-electric-car-con-explained-n604365" is="cib-link" target="_blank">Read more from American Thinker</a></span></p></div><div aria-hidden="true" class="ac-horizontal-separator"></div></div><div class="ad-container"></div><cib-overlay></cib-overlay></div></div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="#0563C1" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="#954F72"><div class="m_586067958210383537WordSection1"><div dir="auto"><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;"><div dir="auto"><div><div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-size: 13pt;"> <u></u><u></u></span></p></div></div></div><div id="m_586067958210383537m_-7226061513065807866DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-size: 13pt;"> <u></u><u></u></span></p></div></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"> <u></u><u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"> <u></u><u></u></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4i6Pw1cc0IwyQypkMdRENdyrm-pjERU5j0DGi94Qe3LWngsgcCIl1W32bX83krEVtmXulEllFWT8y8hXCt65bWPCamomZApUWnd3j79JS3dtIJGQIJo7i42hG7crEay3nZ_WO7u4gHROec09_A1xUkfQ-SBHjaRTBGvJH_JQI7sCzqsU0X07B5nYAB8FW"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_7339469598407920786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4i6Pw1cc0IwyQypkMdRENdyrm-pjERU5j0DGi94Qe3LWngsgcCIl1W32bX83krEVtmXulEllFWT8y8hXCt65bWPCamomZApUWnd3j79JS3dtIJGQIJo7i42hG7crEay3nZ_WO7u4gHROec09_A1xUkfQ-SBHjaRTBGvJH_JQI7sCzqsU0X07B5nYAB8FW=s320" /></a><u></u><u></u></p></blockquote></div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div></div></div></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-56175490568683755202024-02-29T21:32:00.003+11:002024-03-01T17:30:28.391+11:00Pandemic Overreach exposed<div>It started with a trickle now it is a flood. Whichever way I turn to read I am finding increasingly frank criticism of vaccine safety, vaccine mandates, vaccine death rates and even investigation of excess deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp67UNHsfJYU-JCxBHSTlypm5yapjTug0GTiGLpYSYozQnf3p2tVTn8sNPgQPg25yT71yNKh0XSrK-W-hW7PPdFyKnNdBMvtANj7cA4wllf9LOcrJgJq8pkTdsAdh7053W07JigIUjrzR_mHcTq7Lq3fjLj5bmR7oPQLshHTwdRO-KM1Zpa3h-jZyaFxvw/s900/clipart-vaccine-8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="900" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp67UNHsfJYU-JCxBHSTlypm5yapjTug0GTiGLpYSYozQnf3p2tVTn8sNPgQPg25yT71yNKh0XSrK-W-hW7PPdFyKnNdBMvtANj7cA4wllf9LOcrJgJq8pkTdsAdh7053W07JigIUjrzR_mHcTq7Lq3fjLj5bmR7oPQLshHTwdRO-KM1Zpa3h-jZyaFxvw/s320/clipart-vaccine-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Here is a collection of links to relevant articles covering my recent readings.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b><a href="https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/mandatory-covid-vaccines-for-police-and-nurses-unlawful-says-qld-supreme-court/video/bd01ebb5b82e28bd0d0f95f3030781ae" target="_blank">Mandatory COVID vaccines for police and nurses unlawful, says Qld Supreme Court</a><br /></b></li><li><b><a href="https://bnnbreaking.com/world/australia/australian-senate-votes-to-investigate-alarming-excess-deaths-spotlight-on-senator-babets-initiative" target="_blank">Australian Senate Votes to Investigate Alarming Excess Deaths, Spotlight on Senator Babet's Initiative</a><br /></b></li><li><b><a href="https://bnnbreaking.com/conflict-defence/military/new-zealand-court-of-appeal-rules-defence-forces-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-unlawful" target="_blank">New Zealand Court of Appeal Rules Defence Force's Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates Unlawful</a><br /></b></li><li><b><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/large-study-funded-by-cdc-identifies-rare-covid-19-vaccine-risks/ar-BB1iA9dE" target="_blank">Large study funded by CDC identifies rare COVID-19 vaccine risks</a><br /></b></li><li><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/frequent-covid-boosters-in-immunocompromised-may-be-causing-more-harm-than-benefit-new-review-suggests-5583284" target="_blank"><b>Frequent COVID Boosters in Immunocompromised ‘May Be Causing More Harm Than Benefit,’ New Review Suggests</b></a><br /></li></ul><div>I guess we should not be surprised as many of us have been railing against the authoritarian approach taken by our leaders in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. So now, after the peak has passed we are finally being drip-fed the truth. The overreach by authorities who mandated vaccination is now recognised as being in conflict with our 'human rights'. And the even worse overreach in claiming 'safe and effective' when in fact it was an experimental 'vaccine' that did not have the usual level of testing for such vaccines. Unfortunately, this story is playing out too slowly with authorities still resisting full and open investigation of what happened. The Australian government, despite promising it would fully investigate the management of the pandemic, has established a review but with severe restrictions on its scope. Quite the opposite of what it had promised. No doubt many countries are dong the same trying to shield the guilty parties. And of course the vaccines are still being actively promoted in some countries. Fortunately many have seen the light and stopped this. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is a lot coming out on vaccines. In one recent tweet, quite well documented, but I have not gone through it, the tweeter, The Vigilant Fox claims </div><div><br /></div><div>" <a href="https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1758965570303615036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1758965570303615036%7Ctwgr%5E53381b1d13af12296c1749a44132fa65888dbf03%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2024%2F02%2Fno-lives-were-saved-covid-19-vaccine-injections%2F" target="_blank"><b>In fact, Ra</b></a><a href="https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1758965570303615036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1758965570303615036%7Ctwgr%5E53381b1d13af12296c1749a44132fa65888dbf03%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2024%2F02%2Fno-lives-were-saved-covid-19-vaccine-injections%2F" target="_blank"><b>ncourt and his fellow scientists found in their analysis that all-cause mortality INCREASED every time the COVID-19 shots were deployed.</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Follow the link to access the full tweet.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>If that were not enough we have the<b> "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLl69c46JK0&t=2s">White Clots</a>" </b>syndrome that has been observed since 2021-2022, which may well be caused by vaccination and may be related to 'excess deaths'. I guess we will find out over time.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-51649269342545562792024-02-20T16:10:00.001+11:002024-02-20T16:10:31.483+11:00Palestinians speak out against Hamas!<div style="text-align: left;">Following Hamas's Oct 7 massacre of Israeli's civilians, and the consequent war between Hamas and Israel, much of the Western world has seen noisy, intrusive & disruptive, 'mostly peaceful', anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations. Large crowds have expressed their support for the civilian victims of the war as well as support for Hamas' genocidal call "from the River to the Sea ". </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In a crowd of thousands. no doubt some were only there to support civilian victims, but, given the genocidal chants, many were there to support Hamas. These 'useful idiots' justify their support for the murderous terrorists by blaming Israel, Zionists or just Jews for the supposed "occupation" of Gaza, forgetting that Gaza had not been occupied since 2005. Or worse still accepting Hamas' call to remove all Israelis, and Jews from "the river to the sea". This widespread antisemitic tidal wave to what was a blatant unprovoked attack by Hamas is a shameful betrayal of the "never again' mantra following the defeat of Nazi Germany 80 years ago. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So much for the Western democratic world. But how do the citizens of Gaza feel? How does the Middle Eastern Arab world feel about the war? It is difficult to know as Hamas still controls much of what comes out of Gaza. If you were to publish something they don't like, the punishment would be painful and permanent. Nevertheless, word is slowly coming out. It is just a trickle but it has started.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are a couple of Youtube videos recording the views of the Arab world. It seems many of Gaza's civilians are not happy with Hamas </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The first is titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf9LRSEIimE" target="_blank"><b>UNRWA Accused of employing Hamas - Palestinians turn against HAMAS</b></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wf9LRSEIimE" width="320" youtube-src-id="wf9LRSEIimE"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And another short one, titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBjvYkNzuAA" target="_blank">Elderly Gazan woman accuses Hamas of stealing aid in rare criticism</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NBjvYkNzuAA" width="320" youtube-src-id="NBjvYkNzuAA"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">and finally <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JJK0X7D82w" target="_blank">Gazans Speaking Out Against Hamas</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5JJK0X7D82w" width="320" youtube-src-id="5JJK0X7D82w"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">As Israel disarms Hamas I expect more voices will be heard. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">The elimination of Hamas as the governing force in Gaza is the best chance for Gaza's civilians to have a peaceful & prosperous life.</div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-37537185729642677852024-02-17T15:44:00.005+11:002024-02-18T00:19:51.294+11:00Why is the CSIRO lying to us?<div dir="ltr">Our ever-zealous Minister for Climate Change, Mr Chris Bowen, is incessantly reminding us that Nuclear is the most expensive source of energy. Is this possibly true? Well, it seems not. A recent short YouTube video titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDLH-qEFfCY" target="_blank"><b>More misinformation from CSIRO on Nuclear</b></a> calls out the lie, or should I just call it 'disinformation'. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CDLH-qEFfCY" width="320" youtube-src-id="CDLH-qEFfCY"></iframe></div><br /><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Chris Bowen's justification relies on the CSIRO's Annual Gencost report that does indeed claim Nuclear is the most expensive form of energy. The problem is that the CSIRO did NOT investigate the nuclear option with the same objective analysis it provided for Wind and Solar. It based its costings on a single SMR (Small Modular Reactor) with a large development cost. However, it did not consider full-scale Nuclear or indeed small-scale Nuclear, which has many implementations around the world. Tried and true technology, available and with predictable costing. In fact, CSIRO did not even explore the nuclear option with experts in the field. They relied on input from renewable energy providers and even government bureaucrats. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">If that weren't enough, the CSIRO has also been caught 'misinforming' us about the costs of the pumped hydro technology. This time understating the cost of such technologies.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Again a short video of the senate hearing provides the background. The video is titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz82ESaCY74" target="_blank"><b>CSIRO’s GenCost is Just a Wind and Solar Fairy-tale!</b></a> and covers the incisive questions by Senator Roberts. Thank you senator for speaking up.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oz82ESaCY74" width="320" youtube-src-id="Oz82ESaCY74"></iframe></div><br /><div dir="ltr">So there you are. It seems our CSIRO is no longer a respectable objective presenter of scientific research, but an advocate of a preferred technology and willing to tilt the objective truth to push an agenda. Shame! Shame!</div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-69566226045626039262024-02-16T21:32:00.007+11:002024-02-16T21:35:47.737+11:00Will Thorium be the magic bullet?In my post of almost a decade ago, "<a href="https://www.grappyssoapbox.com/2015/10/what-heck-is-thorium.html" target="_blank">What the heck is Thorium?</a> I covered the key reasons Thorium is a potential magic bullet to enable low-cost, safe abundant clean energy to power the world.<div><br />The summary from that post was as follows;-</div><div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.2px;"><h3 style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></h3></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Summary from <a href="https://www.grappyssoapbox.com/2015/10/what-heck-is-thorium.html" target="_blank">"What the heck is Thorium"<br /></a></i><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;">Nuclear power can generate base-load power without CO2 emissions at low cost.</i><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><i><br /></i></div></blockquote><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;">However Nuclear power suffers from; -</i></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;"></div><ul style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><ul><li><i>safety risks</i></li><li><i>proliferation of materials which can be used in WMDs</i></li><li><i>generation of high volumes of long lived highly radioactive waste</i></li><li><i>supply is limited </i></li></ul></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;">Thorium nuclear power can also generate base-load power without CO2 emissions at even lower cost than Uranium based nuclear power.<br /></i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><i>Moreover the Thorium LFTR design addresses all the downsides of Uranium reactors.</i></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><i></i></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><i>Thorium LFTR ;-</i></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>is relatively safe</i></li></ul></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>generates much lower volumes of waste, with lower radiation and shorter life</i></li></ul></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>safe from proliferation as waste is limited and NO Plutonium is produced</i></li></ul></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>the supply is abundant and projected to last >1000 years.</i></li></ul></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: left;"><div><i>For all these reasons Thorium seems to measure up to the hype. It holds the promise of clean low cost energy for an energy hungry world."</i></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In a range of subsequent posts I covered various aspects of the development of Thorium rectors. See <b><i><a href="https://www.grappyssoapbox.com/2017/06/thorium-nuclear-update.html" target="_blank">Thorium nuclear update</a>, <a href="https://www.grappyssoapbox.com/2017/08/thorium-nuclear-experiments-in-europe.html" target="_blank">Thorium nuclear experiments in Europe</a>, and <a href="https://www.grappyssoapbox.com/2017/11/safe-nuclear-passes-first-hurdle.html" target="_blank">Safe nuclear passes first hurdle!</a> </i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">So what is new? A new nuclear reactor design that can use Thorium fuel <b>as well as existing nuclear waste. </b>The new reactor design called the Dual Fluid reactor was invented by six collaborators working in the<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"> Institute for Solid-State Nuclear Physics in Berlin. In February 2021, the six inventors, along with the existing team, formed Canadian company Dual Fluid Energy Inc. which is to commercialize the design. The reactor has not been built yet, so much can go wrong. After all the Thorium magic bullet has been imminent for decades. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">Here is an infomercial on the technology; -</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oWzbVLqJoMA" width="320" youtube-src-id="oWzbVLqJoMA"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Given the recent energy stresses in much of the world, the rush to renewables is being downgraded in favour of baseload technologies, coal, gas and most importantly nuclear. Nuclear holds the most promise as it is the only scalable low emission energy technology. So it is not surprising that Thorium and the new Dual Fluid Reactor will generate great interest.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> </div>Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-90335888639287728122024-02-15T20:46:00.000+11:002024-02-15T20:46:02.547+11:00Exposing media lies about Israel's humanitarian support of Gaza's civilians<div dir="auto">If you listen to mainstream media you will hear many claims about how Israel is conducting its war against Hamas and its neglect of Gaza's civilian population. Claims that Israel is preventing access to drinking water, preventing access to hospitals and preventing aid from reaching civilians. That is ignoring the wild claims by Hamas apologists that Israel is perpetrating "genocide" against Gaza's civilian population, that Israel is intentionally targeting civilians.</div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">Yet Israel has gone out of its way to provide access to media with the facts on the ground. While during the "fog of war" listening to just one side is always fraught, after many wars and reviews by international organisations, including the UN, Israel has proven itself a credible and responsible country. </div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">In a recent YouTube video, Eylon Levy describes the support Israel is providing to Gaza's civilians. Titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiZcpUSP6G0" target="_blank">Israel-Hamas war: 67 killed in Rafah raid, Eylon Levy gives Israeli govt. update | LiveNOW from FOX</a></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">It can be seen here</div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EiZcpUSP6G0" width="320" youtube-src-id="EiZcpUSP6G0"></iframe></div><br /><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">I have printed below the relevant parts from the transcript; - </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><ytd-transcript-segment-renderer class="style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-list-renderer" rounded-container=""><div aria-label="1 minute, 42 seconds in the wake of the October " class="segment style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" role="button" style="align-items: baseline; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-direction: row; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 12px 16px 8px 4px; position: relative;" tabindex="0"><div aria-hidden="true" class="segment-start-offset style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; display: var(--ytd-transcript-segment-time-display); margin: 0px 16px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;" tabindex="-1"><div class="segment-timestamp style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 4px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4px;"><i>Humanitarian update</i></div></div></div></ytd-transcript-segment-renderer></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><ytd-transcript-segment-renderer class="style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-list-renderer" rounded-container=""><div aria-label="1 minute, 42 seconds in the wake of the October " class="segment style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" role="button" style="align-items: baseline; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-direction: row; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 12px 16px 8px 4px; position: relative;" tabindex="0"><div aria-hidden="true" class="segment-start-offset style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; display: var(--ytd-transcript-segment-time-display); margin: 0px 16px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;" tabindex="-1"><div class="segment-timestamp style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 4px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4px;"><i>Yesterday February 12th,</i><i>160 humanitarian Aid </i><i>trucks entered the Gaza </i><i>Strip via Israel's </i><i>Kam Shalom Crossing.</i><i>160 trucks. Additionally. 23 </i><i>trucks were inspected at </i><i>Nitsana and entered Gaza </i><i>through the Rafah crossing </i><i>which means 7 times more </i><i>humanitarian aid is entering </i><i>Gaza through Israel than </i><i>Egypt.</i></div></div></div></ytd-transcript-segment-renderer></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><ytd-transcript-segment-renderer class="style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-list-renderer" rounded-container=""><div aria-label="1 minute, 42 seconds in the wake of the October " class="segment style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" role="button" style="align-items: baseline; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-direction: row; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 12px 16px 8px 4px; position: relative;" tabindex="0"><div aria-hidden="true" class="segment-start-offset style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; display: var(--ytd-transcript-segment-time-display); margin: 0px 16px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;" tabindex="-1"><div class="segment-timestamp style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 4px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4px;"><i>Reports suggesting </i><i>that Rafah is the main c</i><i>rossing for humanitarian a</i><i>id or even the only c</i><i>rossing, as I saw in the </i><i>BBC, are simply in </i><i>opposition to the dry </i><i>facts. Any allegations that </i><i>Israel is restricting the </i><i>entry of aid to Gaza are </i><i>similarly detached from </i><i>reality. Whether through </i><i>ignorance or, dare I say, in </i><i>some cases, malice. In total, </i><i>since Hamas used the Gaza </i><i>Strip as the base for the </i><i>October 7 Massacre, 235,000 tons </i><i>of humanitarian aid have e</i><i>ntered the territory aboard </i><i>12,775. trucks. All this data </i><i>is available on Kogatz mini-site (?). A</i><i>nd we remind you, </i><i>according to our </i><i>intelligence estimates, Hamas </i><i>is hijacking up to 60% of </i><i>that Aid and video footage </i><i>of Hamas gunman on top of </i><i>those trucks has been </i><i>circulating widely. Those </i><i>235,000 tons include 155 </i><i>tons of food. including the </i><i>flour that allows Gaza's </i><i>15 Industrial bakeries to </i><i>produce 2 million loaves </i><i>of bread, rolls and Pita </i><i>breads every single day. T</i><i>hose deliveries include 21,460 tons </i><i>of water. Again since the </i><i>start of the war over </i><i>24,000 tons of shelter </i><i>equipment. and nearly 17,000 t</i><i>ons of medical supplies. </i><i>That's quite apart from the </i><i>field hospitals whose c</i><i>onstruction in the Gaza S</i><i>trip we have facilitated. </i> </div></div></div></ytd-transcript-segment-renderer></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><ytd-transcript-segment-renderer class="style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-list-renderer" rounded-container=""><div aria-label="1 minute, 42 seconds in the wake of the October " class="segment style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" role="button" style="align-items: baseline; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-direction: row; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 12px 16px 8px 4px; position: relative;" tabindex="0"><div aria-hidden="true" class="segment-start-offset style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; display: var(--ytd-transcript-segment-time-display); margin: 0px 16px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;" tabindex="-1"><div class="segment-timestamp style-scope ytd-transcript-segment-renderer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 4px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4px;"><i>Just in recent days the </i><i>IDF helped deliver over 20 </i><i>oxygen tanks and other </i><i>medical equipment to the A</i><i>lamal hospital in Khan Y</i><i>unis. despite. its abuse </i><i>by terrorists as a </i><i>military hideout. by all </i><i>possible accounts, Israel </i><i>is exceeding its obligations </i><i>to facilitate the delivery of</i><i> Aid to the Gaza Strip. </i><i>International donors that </i><i>want to see more Aid enter </i><i>Gaza should simply send </i><i>more. We're ready to f</i><i>acilitate it. They should </i><i>also work urgently to </i><i>replace UNRWA so that UN </i><i>agencies that are not in </i><i>cahoots with Hamas and </i><i>covering up for Hamas can </i><i>do a better job </i><i>delivering the aid that is </i><i>already entering the Gaza </i><i>Strip. </i></div></div></div></ytd-transcript-segment-renderer></div></blockquote> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-55724083835111707112024-02-13T15:31:00.004+11:002024-02-13T15:33:14.841+11:00WHY IS IT SO?........2024<div dir="auto"></div><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr">I don't usually forward the sea of emails I receive daily from friends. Most are cartoons, or jokes, and occasionally articles that happen to agree with their opinion, and, of course, happen to disagree with mine. But I am making an exception in this case, as these few questions seem to skewer the zeitgeist. I often lament that our world is upside down, that what was normal and reasonable just a few years ago has become unacceptable, wrong or even offensive.</div><div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr"><br /></div><div class="gmail_attr" dir="ltr">So here are the questions. (I would have provided a source, but in this case, it was just from a friend. If you know the source and wish to share it with me I will add it to this post.)</div><div dir="auto"><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Why is it so?</i></b> </span></div></blockquote></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="auto"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR801_Li13vJXFzUPT3ALIAc3uFlA-xytcULYndkwdEEKNyvG1QrJly-EkQNVYmdQCJ-m2HyyLibvFOrpfKtfbVNX6rvmkgEW6SWOL6611iW2WtrD0uSxFy0FmL_AK_ik5bUzi8mzXN4qSvfgaOJqqldPhiNVJZx9HYtT93RTsHmYdl12n9mFKALkcWdtB/s1024/_aa60154b-b228-4801-92ca-7d9642679aa5.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR801_Li13vJXFzUPT3ALIAc3uFlA-xytcULYndkwdEEKNyvG1QrJly-EkQNVYmdQCJ-m2HyyLibvFOrpfKtfbVNX6rvmkgEW6SWOL6611iW2WtrD0uSxFy0FmL_AK_ik5bUzi8mzXN4qSvfgaOJqqldPhiNVJZx9HYtT93RTsHmYdl12n9mFKALkcWdtB/s320/_aa60154b-b228-4801-92ca-7d9642679aa5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="auto"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><span class="provGail" style="background-color: #1b1a19; color: white; text-wrap: nowrap;">Image Generated with BING-Copilot AI</span><span style="background-color: #1b1a19; color: white; text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span></i></p></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="auto"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b></b></i></p></div></div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="auto"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Are we living in a time where intelligent people are silenced so that stupid people won't be offended?</b></i></p></div></div></blockquote><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="auto"><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><i><b>Why is it that when archaeologists find human remains, they can determine whether they're male or female but none of the other dozen genders?<br /></b></i><i><b><br />How is it that the government can't control petrol prices…but the weather is something they can fix?<br /><br />We're churning out a generation of poorly educated people with no skills, no ambition, no guidance, and no realistic expectations of what it means to go to work.<br /><br />Why are we told to lower Air Conditioner usage on hot days to prevent overwhelming the electric grid while simultaneously being told to trade in petrol cars for electric vehicles?<br /><br /></b></i><i><b>Why is cancelling student debt a good idea? Does it make sense to reward people who do not honour their financial commitment by taxing people who do?<br /><br />Why is talking sexually in the workplace considered sexual harassment to adults…but talking about sexuality to children Grade 3 at school considered education?<br /><br />If your electric car runs out of power on the motorway, do you walk to a charging station to get a bucket of electricity?<br /><br />Why are we running out of money for Medicare and not for welfare?<br /><br /></b></i><i><b>Mice die in mouse traps because they do not understand why the cheese is free. Just like socialism.<br /><br />The most powerful governments on earth can't stop a virus from spreading…but say they can change the earth's temperature if you pay more tax.<br /><br />If you don't want to stand for the National Anthem, perhaps you should give your legs to a veteran who lost his. That way a real man can stand in your place<br /></b></i><br /></div></blockquote><p><br /></p></div></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-80082538486214309932024-02-05T19:56:00.001+11:002024-02-05T21:05:48.407+11:0010 Questions to be answered before a Palestinian state is proposed!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW70YeUEGjr833KTmNjfsfskjFJ9EgaSLGqlEfaz5DC1gbEQk-EKrB32KC0Ss5yT1MLLkovxP63Sw4iJ6EBf9MAQAQLWCR6AUx6dz1UQ9hbA9FSunkUWgbuCVEBIJ9QonvoLvk_T42KO1BZLN2zDfpn0eNHqbX42lv_0Vpff8v9xKM2VzVrnnwpWL2gWln/s1024/Israel%20Palestine%20flags.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW70YeUEGjr833KTmNjfsfskjFJ9EgaSLGqlEfaz5DC1gbEQk-EKrB32KC0Ss5yT1MLLkovxP63Sw4iJ6EBf9MAQAQLWCR6AUx6dz1UQ9hbA9FSunkUWgbuCVEBIJ9QonvoLvk_T42KO1BZLN2zDfpn0eNHqbX42lv_0Vpff8v9xKM2VzVrnnwpWL2gWln/s320/Israel%20Palestine%20flags.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With the war between Israel and Hamas still raging, the Western world has dusted off the Two-State solution. There have been extensive noisy marches in Western cities in support of the Palestinian victims of this war. Too often the chants at these rallies are antisemitic and even genocidal. Any reasoned analysis cannot place blame on Israel for this war. Nevertheless, governments do need to show some sort of action to their voting public, especially their Muslim base, so they triangulate the issue by calling for a Two-State solution, with two countries, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peaceful harmony. Never mind the refusal by Palestinian leaders to accept a state some 7 times in the last 7 decades. Never mind the example of what happened when Israel unilaterally left Gaza in 2005 thereby establishing a de-facto Palestinian state. There was no peaceful co-existence. The dream turned into a nightmare for Israel with 20 years of terrorist attacks, rockets raining down on its cities and the most recent massacre of its citizens in an unprovoked attack. So one must ask "What do these Western leaders really think?" Are they deluding themselves, or are they just playing petty politics trying to keep faith with their Muslim voters? Certainly, the Israelis now have no illusions, with the virtually unanimous rejection of a two-state solution.</div><div><br /></div><div>In response to the revival of the push for the 2-stte solution Steven Zipperstein in his blog raised the question "<a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-would-the-palestinian-state-of-a-two-state-solution-look-like/" target="_blank"><b>What would the Palestinian state of a two-state solution look like?</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div>In response he has posed 10 questions, the answers to which would define this new state. </div><div>I will let you read the full article, which I recommend. But here are the questions</div><div><br /></div><p style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="font-family: times;">Will the State of Palestine sign a peace treaty with Israel on Day One? Or will it view Israel as an enemy?</span></i></span></li><li><i style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times;">Will the State of Palestine be a democracy or an autocracy? Will it be secular or theocratic? Will Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations be banned, or will they be allowed to play a role in governing the State of Palestine?</span></i></li><li><i style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times;">Will the State of Palestine have an army, or will it agree to be demilitarized?</span></i></li><li><i style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times;">Will the State of Palestine abide by the broken commitments the PLO undertook in the Oslo Accords to renounce terrorism? Will the State of Palestine continue the Palestinian Authority’s pay-for-slay policy for terrorists and their families?</span></i></li><li><i style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times;">Will the State of Palestine maintain trade and other economic relations with Israel? Will it renounce the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel?</span></i></li><li><i style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times;">Will the State of Palestine stop teaching its schoolchildren to hate Jews? </span></i></li><li><i style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times;">W</span></i><i style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times;">ill the State of Palestine aspire to borders stretching “from the River to the Sea”? Or will it be content with statehood encompassing only the West Bank and the Gaza Strip?</span></i></li><li><i style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;"><span style="font-family: times;">W</span></i><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ill the State of Palestine drop the various cases it is pursuing against Israel in the international courts?</span></span></i></li><li><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">W</span><span style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;">ill the State of Palestine establish alliances with Iran, North Korea, Hezbollah, and the Houthis?</span></span></i></li><li><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;">Will the State of Palestine agree to regular and robust international inspections to ensure it is not digging attack tunnels, acquiring or building rockets and other weapons of war, or undertaking any form of potential military or terrorist action against Israel?</span></span></i></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: times;">These are excellent questions. No one should be proposing a state for the Palestinians without being very clear about the type of state they are proposing. Israel deserves peace for its citizens. It cannot be guaranteed without restrictions on the type of Palestinian state that is established. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><p></p><div><br /><br /><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-40049717782392028842024-01-30T21:12:00.001+11:002024-01-30T21:12:05.522+11:00Noisy minority abuse their National Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIG63MkcHvZx5NOjMyMEtwTkH3sIAoKMq_3K1RQ1lwR7hp6lm4nHBAqed2-ijrcxp_m4DoVQOL3-T0DL4QsE8lVKjUZ5wU0rKLfMpVCR0A00aW8QKRfqBvqxCGL34ftuE-tk57oNkOY6HdvyOmCM9AyxpW1L8orIMLhh48NJB2PYrQ7EaTAo3Jrq0beJPu/s262/Australian%20Flag.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="262" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIG63MkcHvZx5NOjMyMEtwTkH3sIAoKMq_3K1RQ1lwR7hp6lm4nHBAqed2-ijrcxp_m4DoVQOL3-T0DL4QsE8lVKjUZ5wU0rKLfMpVCR0A00aW8QKRfqBvqxCGL34ftuE-tk57oNkOY6HdvyOmCM9AyxpW1L8orIMLhh48NJB2PYrQ7EaTAo3Jrq0beJPu/s1600/Australian%20Flag.jpeg" width="262" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Australia Day has come and gone, and it has been sobering. It was far from us "singing with one Voice that we are Australian" and celebrating the wonderful country that we have collectively created and inherited, Instead, it has been the most divisive spectacle that I have seen over my many decades of Australian life. Councils cancelling citizenship ceremonies, loud mobs rallying in our cities screaming anti-Australian and anti-Semitic slogans, corporations refusing to stock Australia Day merchandise and vandals painting anti-Australian slogans on monuments and even sawing off a Captain Cool statue. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is not the Australia I know and love. This is NOT the mainstream average fair dinkum, larrikin, good bloke, tolerant and freedom-loving, and respectful Aussie. Where has he gone? Are these anti- Australian protesters representative of the rest of us? I believe not. I think the quiet good old Aussie is </div><div style="text-align: left;">still here. And he is still the same. He does not accept what the noisy loudmouths scream at him. He just says let them scream, who cares. Confident in himself he does not speak up easily, perhaps avoiding confrontation. As a result, the majority view is being drowned out by a noisy minority. Really a very noisy minority. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So how do we fight back? How do we get back to the old Australia's peaceful tolerant acceptance of each other? How do we quell these noisy haters?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am not sure. But I am guessing the type of decisive feedback that the Voice referendum gave to those who wanted to divide us by race gives a clue. Our politicians must give us a choice and must have the courage to put forward the old-fashioned, conservative, views that the majority of us would support. We need the LNP to be willing to take part in the 'culture wars' to allow the silent majority to have their voices heard. There is evidence that Dutton and Littleproud have read the room. Their successful rejection of the Voice has boosted their confidence. With Albo and his team trying to impose further left-wing policies, there are plenty of opportunities to take a stand. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">About Australia Day, certainly Jacinta Price's suggestion that the LNP proposes to legislate the date of Australia Day is worth considering. It would receive majority support and may wedge Labor. A similar stand can be made with regard to the councils that refused citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day. Perhaps those that refuse to hold them on Australia day, they should lose all rights to hold citizenship ceremonies.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Of course, I am not the only one disappointed in our Australia Day this year. Manu commentators have voiced similar concerns<br />. Here is just one of them. This article by James McPherson's <a href="https://jamesmacpherson.substack.com/p/notes-on-another-depressing-australia?publication_id=818792&utm_campaign=email-post-title&r=yurcg" target="_blank">Notes on a Depressing Australia Day</a> gives one more view.<br /><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-65087704667379573882024-01-23T21:23:00.001+11:002024-01-23T21:24:24.719+11:00Safe and secure, NOT!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YuUW1LCNXX8rL781V-XjMwOCZqeO15xeebsJsgAdEhVZbQW4CXOL4Jwn2QnfT4R7L78wkayuBrWHiIm-f1qyL7-bPUaxfPLz5FQ1fsQpNJg36CleiN8xf2EQ6TBIJT1vxzKqKxVeM5Vnl5i9FQHsfUkMZq3gR31nswQorTVkPaZg1BGpCqvX-dhrd85Y/s800/hand-placing-ballot-into-ballot-box-clipart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="800" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YuUW1LCNXX8rL781V-XjMwOCZqeO15xeebsJsgAdEhVZbQW4CXOL4Jwn2QnfT4R7L78wkayuBrWHiIm-f1qyL7-bPUaxfPLz5FQ1fsQpNJg36CleiN8xf2EQ6TBIJT1vxzKqKxVeM5Vnl5i9FQHsfUkMZq3gR31nswQorTVkPaZg1BGpCqvX-dhrd85Y/s320/hand-placing-ballot-into-ballot-box-clipart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In a recent post I asked the question <b>"<a href="https://www.grappyssoapbox.com/2024/01/will-2024-us-election-be-safest-and.html" target="_blank">Will 2024 US election be safest and most secure?</a>"</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Most opportune I came across a tweet, really a series of tweets, by KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) providing extensive "Summary of Election Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election in the Swing States", released by President Trump</div><div><br /></div><div>Please follow the link and judge for yourselves. </div><div>Ongoing… <a href="https://twitter.com/kanekoathegreat/status/1742670648433090764?s=66&t=q2iz8V0FgcEI87xu5VRU0w">https://twitter.com/kanekoathegreat/status/1742670648433090764?s=66&t=q2iz8V0FgcEI87xu5VRU0w</a></div><div><br /></div><div>There does seem to be a lot of smoke! <br /><br /></div><div>If that were not enough, again just recently, in a court case against Dominion voting machine company a witness for the Plaintiff hacked the Dominion tabulators in the courtroom in a matter of minutes. Proving the machines are far from secure. See <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://x.com/JohnBasham/status/1749013140472271269?s=20">https://x.com/JohnBasham/status/1749013140472271269?s=20</a></span></div><div>As noted in the above tweet; -</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><i><span style="font-family: times;">"<span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">UPDATE: The Federal Judge In Atlanta, Judge Amy Totenberg, Is A </span></span></i></div><i><span style="font-family: times;"><div class="css-175oi2r r-xoduu5" style="align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-size: 17px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space-collapse: preserve; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-1qaijid r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-1loqt21" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d9bf0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-overflow: unset; white-space: inherit;">@BarackObama</a></span></div></span></i><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="css-1qaijid r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0 r-poiln3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-overflow: unset; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Appointee. This Lawsuit; On The Asserted Easy Hackability Of Dominion Voting Systems Used In Georgia, Was Originally Filed By A Coalition Of Plaintiffs That Judge Totenberg Describes As NOT “Conspiracy Theorists Of Any Variety” Who Are Largely POLITICALLY LEFT-LEANING PLAINTIFFS Whose Suit Was Filed In Georgia LONG BEFORE THE 2020 ELECTION. They Argue That The Dominion Voting Systems Used In Georgia Present Security Risks That State Officials Are Constitutionally Obligated To Address & They Have The Support. In An Order Setting This Lawsuit For Trial Judge Totenberg wrote, The Machines Vulnerability To Simple Hacks Has Been Identified By “Some Of The Nation’s Leading Cybersecurity Experts & Computer Scientists.”</span></span></i></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Incidentally, the plaintiffs are NOT Republicans, they are "politically left leaning" group use of protesting the Dominion Voting machines becasue of their vulnerability. Follow the link for more details.</div><div><br /></div><div>What does this all mean? Certainly, there is plenty of evidence to show the elections of 2018, 2020 and 2022 were not "safe and secure". The inevitable conclusion is that there is no way the 2024 elections will be safe and secure either.</div><div><br /></div><div>The US must address election practices, lest the erosion of trust by voters will destroy their democracy.</div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-3066521570150256902024-01-21T20:42:00.001+11:002024-01-21T20:42:17.233+11:00Will 2024 US election be safest and most secure?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIICrEhxVPGbaK-6NIjpnVnAmxlRCC9cImQK2WN8HMM3abmsQn8e1LeYwivW1dGJsnSoBKATKq4g5mqiBkCdYKr30s06Vk_qiO7Mj-WO7nJ8cO-ikQt6wT3R_A_95WQDqDN1umcpN3bc5B_k5q-pQTDOFHMHOrtIhvyxKUvf0ekMfQMNG8glBt0hE7y9j/s800/hand-placing-ballot-into-ballot-box-clipart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="800" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIICrEhxVPGbaK-6NIjpnVnAmxlRCC9cImQK2WN8HMM3abmsQn8e1LeYwivW1dGJsnSoBKATKq4g5mqiBkCdYKr30s06Vk_qiO7Mj-WO7nJ8cO-ikQt6wT3R_A_95WQDqDN1umcpN3bc5B_k5q-pQTDOFHMHOrtIhvyxKUvf0ekMfQMNG8glBt0hE7y9j/s320/hand-placing-ballot-into-ballot-box-clipart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A recent article in the Epoch Times titled <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/voter-fraud-convictions-challenge-narrative-of-secure-elections-5556968" target="_blank">Voter Fraud Convictions Challenge Narrative of Secure Elections</a> provides an overview of the many electoral , lets call them 'shenanigans', that have become inconvenient truths to the 'safe and secure' declarations by those liking the results. For decades American machine-based complex electoral system has been suspect. After every election usually just the losing side has declared they have been robbed due to fraud, miscount, Russia interference, machine malfunction, foreign hacking and the like. </div><div><br /></div><div>There have also been many cases of proven fraud in various forms and even proven machine malfunction. </div><div><br /></div><div>The most recent presidential election of 2020 was perhaps the most debated and even today according to a Rasmussen poll some 30% of voters believe that the election was 'rigged'. Of course 'rigged' is a broad term and it includes electoral interference in a multitude of ways; fraudulent votes, misinformation or disinformation, by media withholding information on Hunter Biden's laptop, the ex CIA authorities claiming the laptop was a Russian plot, the modification of absentee vote procedures contrary to state legislation with COVID as the excuse. Indeed an article in Time magazinedetailed the extent to which the Democratic party 'fortified' their votes by let's face it 'shenanigans'. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Epoch Times article lists several recent electoral fraud cases when laws were broken courts found and sentenced guilty parties, and even nullified elections. After the 2020 election, there were thousands of affidavits by observers and election workers of what appeared to be fraud. Many led to court cases, some 60 in total. Most however did not go to face judgement as the claims were dismissed due to technicalities. The few that did go to court mostly resulted in wins for the claimants.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So why am I revisiting this issue today some 3 years after the last election? We are now 11 months from the next significant election and nothing seems to have changed to tighten up the electoral system. Indeed it is in many cases far worse. The media, big tech, Biden's institutions (DOJ and FBI) are even more polarised than they were in 2020. So no matter who wins the election there will be extensive claims of electoral fraud. </div><div><br /></div><div>If Republicans win it will be against the tide of anti-Republican leanings by most of the power centres of the US political scene. The Democrats will no doubt generate a crescendo of calls to nullify the results, as they did in 2016. </div><div><br /></div><div>If the Democrats win the Republicans will no doubt also claim they have been cheated, as Trump has claimed now for 3 years, and no doubt with some justification.</div><div><br /></div><div>So what can be done about this? I would suggest the electoral system must be simplified. Machines invite abuse, absentee voting invites abuse, and lack of identification opens abuse. A majority of the World's democracies have elections with paper ballots, manually counted, with in-person voting on election day. Absentee ballots are allowed but they are highly restricted and with mandatory identification. Results are out within the day or in unusual cases a week. It is not that hard.</div><div><br /></div><div>The key elements; -</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>paper ballots</li><li>in person voting on election day </li><li>voters marked off against a roll after providing ID</li><li>all ballots are manually counted in locations close to where voting takes place</li></ul><div>Australia has mandatory voting which also eliminates all the effort by parties to get people out to vote. You do not actually have to vote, but you do have to go and have your name maarked off on the electoral roll, again on the day of the election. Elections are on Saturdays , again allowing people to vote without affecting most people's work. It is your duty as a citizen. This also ensures the electoral roles are up to date, to some extent.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unless there is substantial reform of the system the US will repeat the farcical situation where a substantial proportion of the population believes the election was rigged. No democracy can survive if elections are not trusted by the voters.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-55792968630699684872024-01-16T21:11:00.000+11:002024-01-16T21:11:16.434+11:00Humorous Short Videos poking fun at the Woke<div style="text-align: left;">This afternoon my grandson showed me some humorous videos on TikTok that I thought was worth sharing. The videos are quite short and point fun at the Woke Left in a direct humorous way. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are a couple. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The first is on 'masks are symbolic' ;-</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FMbMtYiNVxQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="FMbMtYiNVxQ"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">and another 'Liberals confuse me'</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TnGc75HLceU" width="320" youtube-src-id="TnGc75HLceU"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yeh, they are simple, and humorous and poke fun at the strange ideas that the Woke seem to accept without question.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was curious about the background and found these videos are really part of the marketing materials for a dating app for conservatives. I did not realize this was a demographic in demand, but on reflection can see the logic of it. After all, being young, single, conservative and seeking a date with someone with similar views would not be easy. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The presenter of the shorts is one of the founders of The Right Stuff, John McEntee. You can check the background on Wikipedia at "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_Stuff_(app)" target="_blank">The Right Stuff</a>". (Of course, treat all Wikipedia entries with some caution especially when they cover topics that have a current political aspect, like this one.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">On <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daterightstuff" target="_blank">YouTube </a>you can see the full range of shorts, quite a lot of them. Of course you can also check out some of the dating options.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-62023547405224652282024-01-08T21:09:00.001+11:002024-01-21T19:33:38.554+11:00In praise of meritocracyMeritocracy is the system that rewards individuals based on their abilities and achievements, regardless of their social, cultural, or economic background. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy" target="_blank">"<span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">The concept originates, at least by the sixth century BC, when it was advocated by the Chinese philosopher </span><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #3366cc;"><span style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 14px;">Confucius</span></span></a><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy" target="_blank">, who "invented the notion that those who govern should do so because of merit, not of inherited status."</a> </span> Since that time it has evolved into an absolute ideal to promote a successful society that does not discriminate against individuals based on their race, sexual orientation or any other group identity, while encouraging personal development and effort. So why would any post suggest that meritocracy needs to be praised?<div> <div>Of course, anyone reading this is well aware that meritocracy, the long-sought ideal has been all but subsumed by DEI, Diversity Equity and Inclusion. DEI upends meritocracy and prioritizes identity groups over merit. No longer do we choose the best person for the job based on their abilities, we now select based on a whole range of factors that define the so-called 'identity group' to which the individual belongs.</div><div><br /></div><div>The idea is that by doing so we will have redressed the inequities that hold back some identity groups in our societies. Historical inequities due to race, gender, sexual orientation, or any one of a whole range of other factors. So instead of appointing an individual on their merit we should evaluate all the candidates and select the one most qualified by their identity group. When appointing someone not best suited for the job, we should assume he will either grow into the job, by magically developing the skills required. Or even if he doesn't, we accept the poorer performance on the basis that society has benefited by our having given this person an opportunity he would otherwise have not had. This trades off excellence for some theoretical societal benefit.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, this is sophistry. Most of us know it, but like the crowd watching the naked emperor, we are all too weak to call it out. So let me do it. Society is NOT better off when we choose mediocrity over excellence. By failing to appoint the best person for the job, we destroy the driving force of social progress; incentive. People will not make the effort to improve themselves if there is no incentive to do so. Moreover, if less capable people are appointed to an organisation, the organisation too will suffer.</div><div><br /></div><div>DEI has other issues too. Selecting one race in preference to any other is simply racist. Selecting one gender over any other is just sexist. Selecting one sexual orientation over any other is clearly discriminatory. So any analysis of DEI fails to justify its use. Yet over the past decade, it has infiltrated every aspect of many Western Societies. It has spread like a virus from academia, through education, media, politics, and business. Most organisations now have DEI officers and work to subjugate candidate merit in favour of identity groups. </div><div><br /></div><div>Despite its wide influence, DEI has had its problems of late. People are waking up, and fighting back. I expect this to continue. Several US states have legislated to prevent the use of DEI by corporations. Some large investment funds, perhaps as a consequence of the government edicts, have removed their DEI edicts. And most recently following a SCOTUS ruling Ivy League universities have come under fire for their discriminatory enrolment policies. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nevertheless, DEI remains a cancer that is eating away at the very fabric of our societies. The appointment of any person not best qualified to perform a job is the road to mediocrity. Yet I am sure we can all think of many senior and public appointments that can only be explained by some sort of DEI selection. Sometimes the incompetence is blatant. </div><div><br /></div><div>Just look at the short list of senior appointments by the Biden administration and consider whether these people should have been appointed to their positions if it wasn't for DEI. Would they be the best suited for their jobs?</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote><div dir="auto"><i>Kamala Harris - <span face="MercurySSm-Book-Pro_Web, serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0a2458; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span face="MercurySSm-Book-Pro_Web, serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0a2458; font-size: 16px;"><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/" target="_blank">She is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected Vice President</a></span></i></div><div dir="auto"><i>Pete Buttigieg - <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/meet-secretary/secretary-pete-buttigieg" target="_blank">The first openly gay person confirmed to serve in a president’s Cabinet</a></i></div><div dir="auto"><i>Karine Jean Pierre - <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-names-karine-jean-pierre-new-white-house-press-secretary-rcna27483" target="_blank"> Jean-Pierre will be the first Black woman and the first openly gay person to hold the position.</a></i></div><div dir="auto"><i>Katanga Jackson Brown- <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-22/ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-confirmation-hearing/100919828" target="_blank">the first black woman to sit on the highest court in the United States in its 233-year history.</a></i></div><div dir="auto"><i>Admiral Rachel Levine - <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58974627" target="_blank">The US assistant secretary for health has been sworn in as the first transgender four-star officer in the country's history.</a></i></div><div dir="auto"><i><br /></i></div><div dir="auto"><i>Of course one can never deny these people as having any merit, however, when the announcement of their jobs includes their identity group, it implies that the identity group played a significant role in their appointment.</i></div><div dir="auto"></div></blockquote><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">Merit, the best person for the job, the one who will deliver results. It is not difficult. If you subjugate merit to ANYTHING else, you will get inferior results. Sometimes disastrous results. </div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">There is no greater poison in society than the abandonment of meritocracy.</div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div> </div></div>Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-62319300119203528912024-01-07T16:02:00.002+11:002024-01-07T16:02:34.122+11:00What is life like for citizens of Gaza?<div style="text-align: left;">The war between Hamas and Israel has been going for 3 months. It has wrought devastation for Gaza and its citizens. It has also spawned many vocal, often antisemitic rallies, marches, and convoys in support of "Palestine"/Hamas in most Western Cities. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Given Hamas started this war, many, most probably a large majority, believe Israel had no choice but to fight back and that if Israel were successful in eliminating Hamas, it would liberate Gazans from their oppression by Hamas. Most Western media have given some twisted legitimacy to Hamas's atrocities in an inverted morality, blaming the victims for the crimes of Hamas. No doubt it is partly support for the weaker party, support for the innocent victims, and partly anti-Israel and antisemitic bias. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While this is widely debated in the Western media there is very little coming out of Gaza. Perhaps this is not surprising given Hamas' absolute control of Gaza's citizenry. Nevertheless, we have had some snippets of dissent mainly on the Middle East-based media, Egypt, Al Jazeera etc.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In November a longer piece titled "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgAq-9_4Rzs" target="_blank">What Is Life Like for Palestinians in Gaza?</a> was posted on YouTube. Using video snippets and commentary by Gaza's citizens together with historical footage from a wide range of media, it paints a different picture than we are traditionally shown in our Western media. Life in Gaza is terrible and it seems Gazans, at least some would love to get rid of Hamas and be allowed to live their lives without Hamas' oppression.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So well worth view!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PgAq-9_4Rzs" width="320" youtube-src-id="PgAq-9_4Rzs"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="https://youtu.be/PgAq-9_4Rzs?si=4R9dUk1cTiAFRDXx">https://youtu.be/PgAq-9_4Rzs?si=4R9dUk1cTiAFRDXx</a></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-71368705485366744702024-01-04T20:50:00.004+11:002024-01-04T20:50:59.741+11:00Pfizer malfeasance?<div>A recent edition of Trialsite News highlighted what appears to be a smoking gun indicating Pfizer 'shenanigans' relating to the data they published on the efficacy of their COVID vaccine. In their article titled <a href="https://www.trialsitenews.com/a/intensive-interrogation-of-pfizer-bnt162b2-trial-dataappears-to-be-research-malfeasance-cover-up-ed0b9bdd" target="_blank">Intensive Interrogation of Pfizer BNT162b2 Trial Data—Appears to be Research Malfeasance, Cover-Up?</a></div><div><br /></div><div>They refer to a study by Australian researchers Corrine Michaels et al, titled <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374798948_Forensic_analysis_of_the_38_subject_deaths_in_the_6-Month_Interim_Report_of_the_PfizerBioNTech_BNT162b2_mRNA_Vaccine_Clinical_Trial" target="_blank">Forensic analysis of the 38 subject deaths in the 6-Month Interim Report of the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine Clinical Trial</a>. <br /><br /></div><div>I hve incldued the references so you can get into the details, if you are so inclined. It becomes very technical quite quickly. And I try to avoid the technicalities whenever possible. </div><div><br /></div><div>In summary they reviewed the data Pfizer published of their own testing of their COVID vaccine. They found inconsitencies in the reported success rate. Given the extent and significance of the missing data they imply this was due to intentional 'manipulation' of the data.</div><div><br /></div><div>I reproduce the abstract here and highlight the section implying issues with the data.</div><div><br /></div><blockquote><div><div class="nova-legacy-c-card__header nova-legacy-c-card__header--show-divider nova-legacy-c-card__header--spacing-inherit" style="border-bottom: 1px solid var(--nova-color-grey-200); color: #111111; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-size: 12px; padding: 20px;"><h2 class="nova-legacy-e-text nova-legacy-e-text--size-l nova-legacy-e-text--family-display nova-legacy-e-text--spacing-none nova-legacy-e-text--color-grey-700" style="color: var(--nova-color-grey-700); font-size: 1rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: var(--nova-font-family-display);">"</span><span style="font-family: times;">Abstract and Figures</span></i></h2></div><div class="nova-legacy-c-card__body nova-legacy-c-card__body--spacing-inherit" style="color: #111111; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; font-size: 12px; padding: 20px;"><div class="nova-legacy-e-text nova-legacy-e-text--size-m nova-legacy-e-text--family-sans-serif nova-legacy-e-text--spacing-none nova-legacy-e-text--color-grey-800 research-detail-middle-section__abstract" itemprop="description" style="color: var(--nova-color-grey-800); font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: times;">The analysis reported here is unique in that it is the first study of the original data from the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine clinical trial (CA4591001) to be carried out by a group unaffiliated with the trial sponsor. Our study is a forensic analysis of the 38 trial subjects who died between July 27, 2020, the start of Phase 2/3 of the clinical trial, and March 13, 2021, the data end date of their 6-Month Interim Report. Phase 2/3 of the trial involved 44,060 subjects who were equally distributed into two groups and received Dose 1 of either the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccinated or the Placebo control (0.9% normal saline). At Week 20, when the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. FDA, subjects in the placebo arm were given the option to be BNT162b2 vaccinated. All but a few accepted. Surprisingly, a comparison of the number of subject deaths per week during the 33 Weeks of this study found no significant difference between the number of deaths in the vaccinated versus placebo arms for the first 20 weeks of the trial, the placebo-controlled portion of the trial. After Week 20, as subjects in the Placebo were unblinded and vaccinated, deaths among this still unvaccinated cohort of this group slowed and eventually plateaued. Deaths in the BNT162b2 vaccinated subjects continued at the same rate. <b>Our analysis revealed inconsistencies between the subject data listed in the 6-Month Interim Report and publications authored by Pfizer/BioNTech trial site administrators. Most importantly, we found evidence of an over 3.7-fold increase in number of deaths due to cardiovascular events in BNT162b2 vaccinated subjects compared to Placebo controls. This significant adverse event signal was not reported by Pfizer/BioNTech.</b> Potential sources of these data inconsistencies are identified."</span></i></div></div></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: times;">This paper was published in October. Have you read about it at all? </span> Our mainstream media, our medical fraternity and our politicians continue to have their heads in the sand. One day, I expect this dam of silence will break and all hell will break lose. Let's hope it is before we continue to vaccinate people with a vaccine that seems to do more harm than the disease it is trying to prevent.</p><blockquote><div><div class="nova-legacy-c-card__body nova-legacy-c-card__body--spacing-inherit" style="color: #111111; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 20px;"><div class="nova-legacy-e-text nova-legacy-e-text--size-m nova-legacy-e-text--family-sans-serif nova-legacy-e-text--spacing-none nova-legacy-e-text--color-grey-800 research-detail-middle-section__abstract" itemprop="description" style="color: var(--nova-color-grey-800); font-family: var(--nova-font-family-sans-serif); font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-top: 0px;"> </div></div></div></blockquote> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-39130902184290293122023-12-31T16:28:00.001+11:002023-12-31T16:28:53.447+11:00Ring out the old, Ring in the NewIt's that time again, the last day of the year. A year that started so full of hope, only to be dashed, as always, by acrimony, disaster and strife. So much change, so many lives, too many wars. Once again we seek calm and peace. A less shrill discourse, more accommodation, and more understanding. <div><br />So it is time to 'ring out the old year and ring in the new'. <br /><br /><i>Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,<br />The flying cloud, the frosty light:<br />The year is dying in the night;<br />Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.<br /><br /> Ring out the old, ring in the new,<br />Ring, happy bells, across the snow:<br />The year is going, let him go;<br />Ring out the false, ring in the true.<br /><br />Ring out the grief that saps the mind<br />For those that here we see no more;<br />Ring out the feud of rich and poor,<br />Ring in redress to all mankind.<br /><br /> Ring out a slowly dying cause,<br />And ancient forms of party strife;<br />Ring in the nobler modes of life,<br />With sweeter manners, purer laws.<br /><br />Ring out the want, the care, the sin,<br />The faithless coldness of the times;<br />Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes<br />But ring the fuller minstrel in.<br /><br />Ring out false pride in place and blood,<br />The civic slander and the spite;<br />Ring in the love of truth and right,<br />Ring in the common love of good.<br /><br />Ring out old shapes of foul disease;<br />Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;<br />Ring out the thousand wars of old,<br />Ring in the thousand years of peace.<br /><br />Ring in the valiant man and free,<br />The larger heart, the kindlier hand;<br />Ring out the darkness of the land,<br />Ring in the Christ that is to be.</i><br /><div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Ring Out, Wild Bells , Alfred, Lord Tennyson, published 1850</i></span></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_Out%2C_Wild_Bells"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;"><i>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_Out%2C_Wild_Bells</i></span></a></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div> May 2024 bring the world peace and joy. I wish you all a Happy New Year.<br /><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div> </div></div>Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-76011677807852002142023-12-31T14:39:00.002+11:002023-12-31T14:42:19.883+11:00Progressives are driven by ideology not conviction<div dir="auto">Too many home truths in Gemma's most recent article <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/progressives-in-lockstep-with-hamas-ideology/news-story/f78931237ba6e32678d9a8630228cef4" target="_blank">Progressives in lock-step with Hamas ideology</a> published in the Weekend Australian. it exposes too many home truths to hide behind a paywall, but nevertheless I quote jsut a few relevant snippets, and encourage you all to subscribe to the Australian. In MHO it is the only old-school daily newspaper worth the subscription. </div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">Thank you, Gemma, for articulating what to some of us is somewhat obvious, but that so many seem to miss, avoid or even cover-up. We need the light of truth to spread as widely as possible.</div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">I have selected some sections that I found particularly poignant.</div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="purple"><div class="m_852123403361245072WordSection1"><div><div id="m_852123403361245072gmail-story-description"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;">"</span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;">We are living in an age of ideology, not conviction. We are being governed by people who favour form, not substance. </i><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;">There is an obsession with feeling over fact, perception over reality and an absolutely hysterical addiction to victimhood."</i></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="purple"><div class="m_852123403361245072WordSection1"><p id="m_852123403361245072gmail-U7233419383350gG" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.75rem 0px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>"The slaughter in Israel on October 7 opened the world's eyes to many things, two of which are relevant here. First, the venomous, inexplicable hatred that still exists towards the Jewish people that is not only excused but perpetuated by the progressive political left; and the undeniable truth that ideology rules moral clarity and at a terrible cost.|"</i></span></p></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="purple"><div class="m_852123403361245072WordSection1"><p id="m_852123403361245072gmail-U7233419383351GF" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.75rem 0px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>"Only the ideologically obsessed would be demanding a ceasefire in Gaza without an immediate concurrent surrender by Hamas, and a release of the remaining living hostages. The fact these hostages still are being held and the international community is even talking about a ceasefire is insanity. Israel is the only nation on earth that needs to defend itself for defending itself. If that doesn't embody the curse of rotten ideology, then nothing does."</i></span></p></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="purple"><div class="m_852123403361245072WordSection1"><p id="m_852123403361245072gmail-U723341938335Yu" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.75rem 0px;"><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Since the start of the war that Hamas started and, God willing, Israel will finish, the ideologically driven mainstream media for the most part has demonstrated in dangerous clarity how ideologically driven it has become. Who can forget the bombing of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the Gaza Strip on October 17? Mainstream media, for the most part, breathlessly reported 500 killed and blamed the Israel Defence Forces.</i></p></div></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="purple"><div class="m_852123403361245072WordSection1"><p id="m_852123403361245072gmail-U723341938335I1E" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.75rem 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>We now know it to have been a tragic own goal, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket fired from within Gaza that fell short of its Israeli target. The death toll, about 100. Mainstream media took days to correct the mistake. Some never did. It's certain that truth is a casualty of war but to an even greater degree it is one of ideology. Since October 7, the phase has been coined: no Jews, no news. Terribly, awfully true.</i></span></p></div></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="purple"><div class="m_852123403361245072WordSection1"><p id="m_852123403361245072gmail-U723341938335dGF" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.75rem 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>Only ideology could cause the Western left and its cronies to fawn over Gaza, chant Free Palestine, when Gazan society is the embodiment of everything they purport to be against. A place where being gay is a death sentence, where marital violence is condoned by law, as is intra-family sexual violence, where religious dogma rules and disagreeing with Hamas (the government) will get you a bullet in the back of the head.</i></span></p></div></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="purple"><div class="m_852123403361245072WordSection1"><p id="m_852123403361245072gmail-U723341938335wIH" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.75rem 0px; text-align: left;"><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;">"George Orwell was right when he said in a time of deceit, telling the truth becomes hate speech."</i></p></div></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="EN-AU" link="blue" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;" vlink="purple"><div class="m_852123403361245072WordSection1"><p id="m_852123403361245072gmail-U7233419383359ZE" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.75rem 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times Classic Display"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>"But I am one who, perhaps foolishly, lives in hope. Hope that the more this idiocy is laid bare (special thanks to the Free Palestine brigade and the brains trust at Just Stop Oil) the greater and more aggressive the pushback will be. Our future depends on it.</i>"</span></p></div></div></div></div></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Hear! Hear! </p> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-18541497062271425852023-12-30T14:31:00.000+11:002023-12-30T14:31:04.384+11:00Palaestina some inconvenient facts<div dir="auto">Despite the widespread claims that Israel was 'Palestinian land' misappropriated by the UN to Israel following the holocaust, the history tells a different story.</div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODCZQOahTISk_bmX55k4s4B9oPb9pa7pLWzMSR1znVCgqrRL2lLUzEfIkeTxowH7qvAKam0NvUM3rOpEbH1rJkqperbCU7-zyJ3GR1MbVSIUV2-j8rnIxsTtUfETQGZlqyLptOuv3shX7W0e3yYvJzJ8pEFvWNFbcXRgyjSsUt3aBhvEjUfWtK9GHvVXh/s519/Hadriani%20Relandi%20book%20on%20Israel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="519" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODCZQOahTISk_bmX55k4s4B9oPb9pa7pLWzMSR1znVCgqrRL2lLUzEfIkeTxowH7qvAKam0NvUM3rOpEbH1rJkqperbCU7-zyJ3GR1MbVSIUV2-j8rnIxsTtUfETQGZlqyLptOuv3shX7W0e3yYvJzJ8pEFvWNFbcXRgyjSsUt3aBhvEjUfWtK9GHvVXh/s320/Hadriani%20Relandi%20book%20on%20Israel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">It indicates a land that was inhabited since before 1000BC, predating Islam by over 1500 years. Of course there are many historical references to this, but I want to share just a recent one that I cam across. It is a book written in the 18th century by a Dutch scholar Hadriani Relandis. The original was published in Latin and Dutch but my school latin is not good enough and my dutch is worse, so I hvae to rely on a translation from the folowing sitt, <a href="http://remarkable-travels.blogspot.com/2013/09/hadriani-relandis-palaestina-ex.html">http://remarkable-travels.blogspot.com/2013/09/hadriani-relandis-palaestina-ex.html</a>. </div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">There are some comments which dispute the commentary especially with regard to Relandis' travel to Palestine/now Israel, but not the translation itself. </div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">Here are the paragraphs worth noting.</div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto">"<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i>The land was predominantly, desolate, empty;its' inhabitants few, concentrated in the towns of Acco, Gaza, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Tiberius, and Tzfat. Most of the inhabitants were Jews and the rest, Christians. There were few Muslims, and a scattering of nomad Bedouins. Nablus, called Shchem, where approximately 120 people, members of the Muslim Natsha family and approximately 70 Shomronites, lived. It is interesting and worthy to mention, that Relandi referred to the Muslims as "nomad Bedouins" who arrived in the area as construction and agriculture labor reinforcement, seasonal workers. In the Galilee capital, Nazareth, lived approximately 700 Christians and in Jerusalem approximately 5000 people, mostly Jews and some Christians. Relandi learned that not one settlement in Palestina, had a name that was of Arabic origin. Settlement names originated in the Hebrew, Greek, Latin or Roman languages.</i></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><br />This beautifully illustrated book contradicts any post-modern theory that claims a "Palestinian heritage," or Palestinian nation. It further strengthens and validates the connection, kinship of this country to the Jewish people, relevance, pertinence, and the absolute lack of Arab ownership, who adopted the Latin name Palestina for their own."</i></span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">Of course, this is not the only source for the actual history and it would hardly be worth recording this post. But given the very real ongoing effort, and surprising success, at portraying Israelis as illegitimate colonizers, we have to take every opportunity to call it out. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">Perhaps, perhaps, truth will win out, eventually.</span></span></div>Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-80371069330993813622023-12-24T21:05:00.000+11:002023-12-24T21:05:13.663+11:00A Three State Solution - by Lisa Liel<div>We have all heard the repeated and now shrill calls for the Two State solution to bring peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Two independent states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side, peacefully, like many civilized states. Good neighbours living happily forever after. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well, that is the ideal, the panacea to solve what has been an intractable problem for 75 years. I tend to think that a two-state solution is currently dead. Why? Because neither the Palestinians, and after October 7, now not even the Israelis want it. Israel had agreed to a Palestinian state many times. But every time the Palestinians walked away. The Palestinian extremist groups, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, do not want Israel as a neighbour. They want all the land of Israel as their state. They want it all. "River to the sea". This position by the Palestinian leadership has not changed for well nigh 70 years. </div><div><br /></div><div>Despite this rather obvious flaw in the concept the Two state solution remains the only 'solution' proposed by much of the Western World. It cannot be becasue they believe it is a possible, given the history of failure. But I guess they support it to appease their Muslim minorities, They want to have a fall back option that gives hope to Palestinians. </div><div>Of course the status quo is unacceptable for both Israel and the Palestinian population. The Palestinian leadership is to blame for failing their people. I guess that is a topic in itself. and I will leave it for another day</div><div><br /></div><div>And I do have hope that if Israel is given the chance to eliminate Hamas as the ruling regime in Gaza there is an opportunity for creating leadership. If that works then of course the case for "River to the Sea" moves down a notch. Hard to visualise during a bloody war but "spiro spero".While there is breath there is hope.</div><div><br /></div><div>I recently came across an alternative to the Two State solution. Lisa Liel has proposed <a href="https://lisaliel.substack.com/p/a-three-state-solution-hurrah" target="_blank">A Three State Solution</a></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a novel idea and has some compelling arguments for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>In summary, she proposes an independent Palestinian state taking about 30% of Jordan in a section of Jordan not contiguous with Israel (see map). The idea is that all Palestinians from Gaza and the West bank would be relocated to this new state. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfms75bNXVQ8ytiNBpnOrM7XUqb87YbjrG6BQ_G_6-_X4PbgtmdbSD3c_J72VSFjSNr4ZS19d76f9S4y8vYOsdZkS9w-c8GY4rHbss8xnYzoaEGhf5rVS7uaptFKa3WbwYTEhxghjmhJ0WtXHffm1jQboL7PeQbWixSOsbcB-hVNZGuPx_XBYGw8IIGCBa/s4962/Map%20-%20the%20three%20state%20solution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4962" data-original-width="3509" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfms75bNXVQ8ytiNBpnOrM7XUqb87YbjrG6BQ_G_6-_X4PbgtmdbSD3c_J72VSFjSNr4ZS19d76f9S4y8vYOsdZkS9w-c8GY4rHbss8xnYzoaEGhf5rVS7uaptFKa3WbwYTEhxghjmhJ0WtXHffm1jQboL7PeQbWixSOsbcB-hVNZGuPx_XBYGw8IIGCBa/s320/Map%20-%20the%20three%20state%20solution.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There are some notable advantages of this proposal which Lisa identifies clearly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The total area of the proposed state is roughly equal to the combined areas of Gaza and the West Bank disputed territory.</li><li>While Jordan loses some land, given that Jordan was historically intended to take all the Arabs of Palestine, it is not an unreasonable compromise. </li><li>In addition Jordan gains strategically by losing its border with Iraq and shortening its borders with Syria and Saudi Arabia</li><li>Also the proposed land is currently not highly populated.</li><li>Most importantly the Palestinian state would not border Israel, which would strategically be welcome presumably by both Israel, no more rockets, and Palestine, no more occupation</li><li>While landlocked the land does have some water resources with a large fresh water basis. </li><li>it also has an airport and is located strategically between Jordan and Iraq so could offer trade opportunities</li><li>UNRWA could be disbanded and the funds redirected to help build infrastructure for the new state</li></ul><div>It is easy to dismiss such ideas, but history has shown such mass relocations have been possible if there is a will. </div><div><br /></div><div>Great work by Lisa in putting forward a novel idea!</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /> </div><div><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-62274551889845305052023-12-15T21:06:00.004+11:002023-12-15T21:06:52.952+11:00mRNA booster provides "NO protection against death"<div>I have read too many negative stories about COVID vaccines to be surprised. The most recent came from a YouTube video by Dr John Campbell. This one reports on a recent study from Austria analysing the benefits of mRNA booster shots of the COVID vaccinations.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>You can see the Campbell video here;-</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/CRs9xwiGabA?si=pO3nLIEE7Qt2JqlB"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_mbSMniLLrc" width="320" youtube-src-id="_mbSMniLLrc"></iframe></div><br /><br /></a></div></div><div>Unfortunately, again, the news is not good. The report titled <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eci.14136" target="_blank"><b>Effectiveness of a fourth SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose in previously infected individuals from Austria</b></a> concludes the following;-</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">"In conclusion, in the general population of Austria with a history of a SARS-CoV-2 infection we did not observe a significant rVE (relative Vaccine Effectiveness) of a fourth vaccine dose for COVID-19 deaths during a time with already very low absolute risk for this outcome. We documented a transient rVE for SARS-CoV-2 infections, but this effect was reversed during extended follow-up in 2023. Repeated previous and more recent SARS-CoV-2 infections were both associated with significantly reduced reinfections. </span></span></i></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">In general, our study results question whether recommendations for repeated vaccine boosters against SARS-CoV-2 are currently justified for large parts of the general population with a history of previous infections. This does not contradict the health benefit of the initial vaccinations of unprotected populations in the early phase of the COVID-19-pandemic and of vaccinations of very high-risk populations at any time.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> Our findings fit well to the hypothesis of diminishing effectiveness and thus shifting risk–benefit ratios from additional vaccinations during the transition of the COVID-19 pandemic to its endemic phase."</span></span></i></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In other words; -</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>the fourth booster gives NO additional protection against death</li><li>the fourth booster gives a temporary (~ 3months) additional protection against infection</li><li>after the 3 month period the 4th booster increases the infection rate.</li></ul><div>Why is this important? Because in much of the Western world health care authorities are still advising that 4th and subsequent boosters be taken. This study shows that such advice is incorrect!</div></div><div><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-7776648506600343652023-12-14T13:01:00.002+11:002023-12-14T13:03:23.404+11:0010 ways AI can be a threat to humanity<div>Following up on my earlier post, <a href="https://www.grappyssoapbox.com/2023/12/10-areas-where-ai-will-be-able-to-make.html" target="_blank"><b>10 areas where AI will be able to make a contribution in coming years</b></a> , I asked Bing to list 10 ways that AI can be a threat to humanity.</div><div>Here is 'its" response.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>"Sure, here are ten possible ways that AI can be a danger to humanity: </i></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><b>Superintelligence:</b> AI can surpass human intelligence and capabilities, and become uncontrollable or unpredictable. AI can also have goals or values that are incompatible or misaligned with human ones. ¹²³ </i></li><li><i> <b>Unemployment</b>: AI can automate many jobs and tasks that humans currently perform, and create economic and social disruption. AI can also create new forms of inequality and discrimination. ²⁴⁵ </i></li><li><i> <b>Privacy</b>: AI can collect and analyze massive amounts of personal data, and expose or exploit sensitive information. AI can also enable mass surveillance and manipulation of individuals or groups. ²⁴⁵</i></li><li><i> <b>Bias</b>: AI can inherit or amplify human biases and prejudices, and produce unfair or harmful outcomes. AI can also lack transparency or accountability for its decisions and actions. ²⁴⁵ </i></li><li><i> <b>Security</b>: AI can be hacked or corrupted by malicious actors, and cause damage or harm to systems or devices. AI can also be used for cyberattacks or cyberwarfare. ²⁴⁵ </i></li><li><i> <b>Warfare</b>: AI can be used for developing or deploying autonomous weapons, such as drones, missiles, or robots, that can kill without human oversight or consent. AI can also trigger a new arms race or escalate conflicts. ²⁴ </i></li><li><i> <b>Misinformation</b>: AI can create or spread fake or misleading information, such as deepfakes, propaganda, or conspiracy theories, that can undermine trust, truth, or democracy. AI can also influence human behavior or opinions through persuasion or deception. ²⁴ </i></li><li><i> <b>Existential risk</b>: AI can pose a threat to the survival or well-being of humanity, either intentionally or unintentionally. AI can also cause ecological or moral degradation. ¹² </i></li><li><i> <b>Dependency</b>: AI can make humans overly reliant on technology, and reduce their skills, creativity, or autonomy. AI can also affect human identity, dignity, or values. </i></li><li><i> <b>Singularity</b>: AI can reach a point of exponential self-improvement, and trigger a radical transformation of the world that is beyond human comprehension or control. AI can also create a new form of life that is superior to humans. </i></li></ul><i> <b>Source</b>: Conversation with Bing, 25/10/2023 </i></div><div><i> (1) The Urgent Call for AI Regulations: Mitigating Threats to Humanity. <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-urgent-call-for-ai-regulations-mitigating-threats-to-humanity/ar-AA1i6M1m">https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-urgent-call-for-ai-regulations-mitigating-threats-to-humanity/ar-AA1i6M1m</a>. (2) A 'Godfather of AI' Calls for an Organization to Defend Humanity. <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/ai-godfather-yoshua-bengio-humanity-defense/">https://www.wired.com/story/ai-godfather-yoshua-bengio-humanity-defense/</a>. </i></div><div><i> (3) Godfather of AI says AI could be a threat to humanity in future, might manipulate people. <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/news/godfather-of-ai-says-ai-could-be-a-threat-to-humanity-in-future-might-manipulate-people/ar-AA1i59K0">https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/news/godfather-of-ai-says-ai-could-be-a-threat-to-humanity-in-future-might-manipulate-people/ar-AA1i59K0</a>. </i></div><div><i> (4) Artificial intelligence could lead to extinction, experts warn. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65746524">https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65746524</a>. </i></div><div><i> (5) Here's Why AI May Be Extremely Dangerous--Whether It's Conscious or Not .... <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-why-ai-may-be-extremely-dangerous-whether-its-conscious-or-not/">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-why-ai-may-be-extremely-dangerous-whether-its-conscious-or-not/</a>. </i></div><div><i> (6) 12 Risks and Dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Built In. <a href="https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/risks-of-artificial-intelligence">https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/risks-of-artificial-intelligence</a>.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Mmm. Now you have a more complete picture. More but not the whole stroy. I have but one overriding concern, perhaps the one that trumps all of these. I shall prepare a post on that soon-ish.</div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-14382464040230094342023-12-12T21:14:00.001+11:002023-12-13T19:48:15.445+11:00Politics and the Arts do not mix<p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">No doubt you will have read about the controversy at the STC following an unauthorized protest by some actors at the end of a play. At the encore three of the five actors displayed their support for Palestine by wearing keffiyehs. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">The STC management reacted poorly and was slow to distance itself from the protest, trying to tread a fine line between the actors and patrons of the theatre, many of whom are Jewish. The ensuing furore has led to the resignation of 3 directors of the STC and indeed the abandonment of the STC by many influential patrons. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">One patron, Daniel Greenberg has penned a damning letter to the STC explaining his own position. This letter has been widely publicized.(see </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12798623/open-letter-Sydney-Theatre-Company-keffiyeh-protest-Daniel-Grynberg.html" target="_blank"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Read the damning letter sent to the Sydney Theatre Company that reveals the Jewish community's outraged response to 'sickening protest'</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">)</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I include his letter to illustrate the depth of feeling of Jewish patrons. You will not get this from MSM as they seem more biased towards the virtue-signaling left.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33WjB4ZZ2IX5gsQ-7DuZo_dpHBFqZO0ulcPiqln7G_er-mtYUA9fUe5OXePMa8fNqP_95DgsOCJHSP9YEcO3EYYYyrbK685qVrxQNVp2jVnQb6qgbIAPoNvZIVqFNKN22LmEY0tGTH7hxTDpWQWymDf3HUD66N4CD-f-zLscnoUiofBv_mBnmkD4-zJ1g/s3508/a5912e2d-40cc-4b38-9367-3c6d8d0ef814-0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3508" data-original-width="2480" height="745" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33WjB4ZZ2IX5gsQ-7DuZo_dpHBFqZO0ulcPiqln7G_er-mtYUA9fUe5OXePMa8fNqP_95DgsOCJHSP9YEcO3EYYYyrbK685qVrxQNVp2jVnQb6qgbIAPoNvZIVqFNKN22LmEY0tGTH7hxTDpWQWymDf3HUD66N4CD-f-zLscnoUiofBv_mBnmkD4-zJ1g/w526-h745/a5912e2d-40cc-4b38-9367-3c6d8d0ef814-0.jpg" width="526" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeTcUBfJeLClsD9tzHwr3mjI2hHf0jWFEV1SsR15bDWVRxhIPk_mJB1i4ZiYDU2E6xE_gSsOgesYRKs_lPp1klXAbz9cheDq5pL1S484e356bCz6D48nj_VILeRkeGRLkHHUqSZ690VYfvksIvchK09D4Te4fdB1BbzmDguwBOfgfYcrWWqCWNuNTI9YA/s3508/a5912e2d-40cc-4b38-9367-3c6d8d0ef814-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3508" data-original-width="2480" height="758" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeTcUBfJeLClsD9tzHwr3mjI2hHf0jWFEV1SsR15bDWVRxhIPk_mJB1i4ZiYDU2E6xE_gSsOgesYRKs_lPp1klXAbz9cheDq5pL1S484e356bCz6D48nj_VILeRkeGRLkHHUqSZ690VYfvksIvchK09D4Te4fdB1BbzmDguwBOfgfYcrWWqCWNuNTI9YA/w535-h758/a5912e2d-40cc-4b38-9367-3c6d8d0ef814-1.jpg" width="535" /></a></div><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">The actors have dug their heels in. They plan further such protests and have convinced a large number of fellow artists to join their stand. This is still ongoing and we don't know where it will all land. However, given the many high-profile patrons have walked, it is possible the STC will not survive.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">What is the morality behind these issues? In some ways it is difficult. There is the issue of free speech. We do want a society where speech is not censored even when it is obnoxious. But of course, many consequences fall short of censorship. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">The Left taught us over the past few years how 'cancellation' can work to limit free speech. They have not targeted the person whose speech they did not like but have approached his customers, employer, colleagues and even professional associations. It has been very effective. We have seen the many 'hostage videos' by hapless victims apologising profusely, but unbelievably, for violating some PC edict. This has of course meant that many others have self-censored. Thus cancel culture keeps the herd on a tight leash. </span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Well, I guess that can be our weapon too. The actors may exercise their free speech. They can air their views, but the patrons, the audience, and the directors of the STC are free to exercise their option to withdraw from supporting these actors' performances and the theatres that employ them. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I stand with the patrons and will not attend plays that feature these actors and will boycott the STC until they have taken adequate measures to redress their failure to distance themselves from the actors.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-68358197607531094812023-12-11T20:43:00.001+11:002023-12-11T20:43:38.506+11:00AIM fights back against antisemitism at Harvard<div>In a recent post ( <a href="https://www.grappyssoapbox.com/2023/12/how-to-fight-back-against-antisemitism.html" target="_blank">How to fight back against antisemitism</a> ) I suggested that we can all fight back against the blatant antisemitism and Jew hatred that has exploded in our communities following Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel. My suggestion was to expose the names of those who put their names to petitions calling for protests against Israel/Jews. </div><div><br /></div><div>AIM, <a href="https://aim.org/" target="_blank">Accuracy in Media</a>, has done much, much better. Following the many antisemitic rallies, marches and petitions against Israel and Jews in Universities in the US, AIM has set up a series of campaigns to draw attention to antisemitism and to expose the anti-Semites. The mobile billboards on a truck display and shame the leaders of the antisemitic rallies. These have gained results with students losing scholarships and no doubt some will have trouble gaining employment. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here is one of the videos; there are many more on the site</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v-pn38efRhk" width="320" youtube-src-id="v-pn38efRhk"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>As a result of seeing the exposure of their colleagues perhaps some will tone down their rhetoric Or perhaps not. In any case, it proves the point. You can and should have free speech, but you cannot have it anonymously. If you believe strongly protest, speak up, but give your name. Then others will decide whether they believe you have the right character for their scholarship or job. </div><div><br /><br /><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9108209674720169988.post-61227034281071255212023-12-10T20:08:00.008+11:002023-12-10T20:12:33.652+11:00Here comes the micro nuclear reactor!<div style="text-align: justify;">Right in time for COP28 we have new information on the development of 'micro-nuclear reactors'. <span style="text-align: left;">This is not a totally new development, and indeed these reactors are not available today. Nevertheless, the recent article (see </span><a href="https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/rolls-royce-mini-nuclear-reactor-for-moon?utm_source=Blueprint+Daily&utm_campaign=6978990b5a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_12_08_12_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5201d9a22f-6978990b5a-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Rolls Royce plans '120-inch-long' mini nuclear reactor for Moon outpost</a><span style="text-align: left;">) sheds some light on the ongoing development of these very compact reactors. Measuring some 1.2m by 3 m they can generate 1-5 Megawatts of energy. This is much lower than the oft-discussed SMR generating 500-1000 MW. </span></div><div dir="ltr"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiO1a3JInOGnCBriMTq9irHt-9nisWJh7npu9jME3AW7vWsTAIXiCxh-dKZYtP9S5EKQotkSjsHFRkM8hrsb75l18vp6kwK-Mt40E8XmMT7Y-CgxLsU6W7cRl646vI9PPXYcUh4Cx4G0toN6GaiI6VxHEAkP_58KynuVlWeVgYxqUDFuLjdvn71R0go_-/s1059/IMG_0215.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="1059" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiO1a3JInOGnCBriMTq9irHt-9nisWJh7npu9jME3AW7vWsTAIXiCxh-dKZYtP9S5EKQotkSjsHFRkM8hrsb75l18vp6kwK-Mt40E8XmMT7Y-CgxLsU6W7cRl646vI9PPXYcUh4Cx4G0toN6GaiI6VxHEAkP_58KynuVlWeVgYxqUDFuLjdvn71R0go_-/s320/IMG_0215.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">The reactors are being developed by Rolls-Royce who indicate they will be available in 2030. The development was driven largely by the need to provide power in space. Where they could provide long-term power in a small footprint in a hostile environment, eg the dark side of the moon. Of course once developed they are likely to be used more widely. Given they are portable they would suit remote environments. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Given nuclear technology has now been accepted as 'Green', all types of nuclear technologies are likely to receive keen support. And not a minute too soon.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div> Grappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15529956183483427272noreply@blogger.com0