JFK said "Victory has a thousand fathers while defeat is an orphan". How true that rings today with everyone claiming ownership of the announced but not yet consummated Ceasefire 'deal' between Israel and Hamas. Biden in his final goodbye address, we hope, claimed total ownership of the 'deal ' having been working on it for some 7 months.
Trump too has claimed the win. He has not been working on it for long at all, just a few weeks. But who is right? You need not go past the few facts I have noted to know who was the critical component of the 'deal'. Biden and his team have been working on this for 7 months, without being able to get an agreement, yet Trump has made the simple threat that if the 'deal' was not agreed upon before his inauguration (Jan 20, next Monday) "there would be hell to pay".Only this statement caused the players to agree to the 'deal'.
So forget Biden and his silly claims. Trump has achieved the 'deal' to the stage it has reached.
But of course, there are problems. Even as I write Israel has announced that Hamas is trying to change the terms of the 'deal', and as a consequence, until they confirm agreement with the negotiated terms there will be no ceasefire. We will see. In all likelihood, this is just a try-on, and Hamas will return to agreement, but is just being Hamas, a terrorist organisation, that cannot be trusted on anything.
You may have noticed that I have put 'deal' in quotation marks. Why? For Israel any agreement whereby they have to release terrorists for the return of civilian hostages is traumatic. It is a painful concession for the return of innocent citizens. A ceasefire is of course welcome, but NOT if a consequence is a future war with a repetition of the atrocities that started this one. I do not believe that negotiations with terrorists even for the return of hostages are justified. All such negotiations lead to increased hostage-taking in the future. What type of example is being set by the current deal. The terrorists end up having many of their captured brethren released for the return of a few of the innocent hostages, or their bodies. The released prisoners become emboldened and are invariably guilty of taking more innocent lives. So no its not a good deal for Israel.
Energy Ministers vs Reality
Australia's energy management is in chaos. Climate change commitments have hijacked all rational assessments of the costs of decarbonising the electricity grid. In another incisive video, Zoe Hilton asks "Is Australia building the lowest cost energy system?". Unfortunately, the answer is a clear NO! The plans that the AEMO claims compare ALL possible options do no such thing. They only look at Renewable options, excluding nuclear and coal. So the constraints that the government has placed on the AEMO ensure that the government policies are confirmed.
Zoe's video is well worth the 12 minutes. If only there were penalties for misinformation spread by governments!
Climate Zealotry knows no bounds
One would have thought that the lets-blame-everything-on-climate-change syndrome would have gone into hibernation over the Northern Hemisphere winter. Especially given the almost weekly announcements of extreme cold weather. But no!
The catastrophic LA fires are not blamed on the lack of forest clearing, the shortage of water, the reduction in the Fire Department budget, or the priority in hiring Fire-persons based on DEI. No, none of these is to blame, the fires were caused by climate change. I guess it is convenient to have a scapegoat so those in authority don't need to make any changes. Well, they have been trying that, but I suspect it is not working. The people have seen through it and are calling the governor, the mayor and the Head of the Fire Department to explain themselves. They in turn are now pointing fingers at each other. What happened to accountability? For once I would like to see a leader face the music. Newsom could simply say: I am sorry, I stuffed up. I resign". But I guess I am dreamin'.
The LA disaster is emblematic of Woke politicians who put their ideology ahead of the practical reality. No wonder that the tide has turned on Wokism and against Left Wing politicians around the world; New Zealand, Italy, Netherlands, France, US, and Argentina, just to name a few.
Back on Climate change, I came across this short video highlighting recent examples of the ridiculous claims made by Climate Zealots.
What does 'hell to pay' mean?
Israel Hayom published an article summarizing VP Elect Vance's explanation of what "all hell to pay means" for Hamas, and all Hamas supporters.
"It means enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership," Vance said, according to FOX News, adding that there were other measures on the diplomatic front to complement this step."
"It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East"
It is hard to think of a more egregious failure of law and order than the Pakistani Rape Gangs episode now causing ructions in the UK. Allison Pearson, a leading reporter for The Telegraph's article titled "Elon Musk has ripped the cloak of deceit off one of Britain’s most disgusting scandals" does not hold back. It exposes the systematic repetitive failure of multiple police to do their job, to protect their citizenry.
Even after substantial evidence of rape and gang rape against multiple offenders, the police failed to charge them because they were Pakistani Muslims. If they had done their job and charged them, the police feared they would have been accused of being racist. So the gangs were allowed to operate and repeat their offences!
This is absolutely unacceptable in a free democratic country. It is a shameful episode that needs to be re-dressed. There needs to be a full public enquiry, every single person who was guilty of the charges should be charged and tried and if proven guilty they should be jailed. Every single police officer at all levels who failed to do their job should be disciplined and lose their job. Thank you to Allison Pearson and The Telegraph for reporting on what is a sensitive issue and their willingness to not let potential accusations of racism stand up for justice. The same thanks also go to Elon Musk who despite having a pretty busy life has used his free speech platform to bring a renewed focus on this injustice.
Given many a Biden fiasco the following should not be a surprise. In a very direct speech in the US Senate, Senator Shelley Moor Capito accuses the Biden administration of uncontrolled spending "equivalent to throwing gold bars over the Titanic!" Well said senator, it evokes quite a picture. She gives a lot of examples of the Biden administration's support of America's enemies. Taxpayer money, in the many millions, is being sent to orgnisations that hate America. Listen to this
Come on DOGE, you have work to do!
Hell to pay in 10 days
President-elect Trump inserted himself into the Hamas-Israel war in grand style by declaring that if the hostages are not released by the time he is inaugurated "there would be all hell to pay". Direct, forceful and certainly widely reported.
The message has been received by Hamas, with an instant restart of negotiations for a hostage-for-prisoner exchange. This restart however is not significant as many past restarts end abruptly when Hamas adds some new condition that cannot be met. In the most recent case, Hamas wants to release the 'bodies' of hostages rather than live hostages. Once a barbarian, always a barbarian.
But Hamas is dependent on several key accomplices, Iran, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, who have all heard Trump's message.
Iran has been a direct supporter and could force Hamas to release the hostages in an instant, but not without losing face.
Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have each been playing the part of an 'honest broker' but are anything but. Each has been supporting Hamas while pretending to help the US. Hamas' leadership has lived in Qatar for decades. Yes, following Trump's ultimatum they have asked Hamas to leave, but we'll see. Egypt too has allowed the building of smuggling tunnels between Egypt to Gaza and allowed the transfer of arms to Hamas again for almost 20 years.
Turkey too has been working against Israel despite being a Nato member. They have recently given shelter to Hamas leaders following their escape from Gaza.
So Trump's ultimatum will fall on all these players. With only 10 days to go, I would be surprised if the hostages are released, but 10 days is a long time.
Here is one of many videos outlining the duplicity of many players and what " all hell to play may mean"
Hamas steals Aid, then sells it to Gaza civilians
While the ICC has claimed Israel is pursuing a genocide against Palestinians and causing a famine, they turn a blind eye to the truth. There is no genocide, there is no famine and while the war started by Hamas has some civilian casualties, Israel has provided access to food aid in sufficient quantity to feed Gaza's civilian population. However, Hamas actively steals the aid and then sells, yes sells it, it to the civilian population. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, after all these terrorists perpetrated the most obscene barbaric massacre on Oct 7 23, so why should we be surprised that they would steal aid.
In the what-will-they-think-of-next domain, we now have a new way of producing synthetic meat that is faster, lower cost, and meets consumer approval.
Israeli and Palestinian researchers at Hebrew University developed a breakthrough method for creating plant-based whole cuts of meat using metamaterials and injection molding technology. This process is significantly more cost-effective than 3D printing ($9/kg vs. $38/kg) and can produce complex cuts like steaks and T-bones. Blind taste tests showed participants had difficulty distinguishing these products from traditional meat, marking a significant advance in sustainable food production. If you are interested in more detail read "Crafting the perfect bite of meat"
ICC to get its comeuppance!
There is indeed a new Sheriff in town. Yes, Donald Trump, not yet inaugurated, has taken on the presidential mantle virtually from November 5. Admittedly only made possible by the obvious vacuum in Biden's presidency. Not only have world leaders been queing at Mar-a-lago to pay tribute to the newly-to-be annointed leader of the free world, but many leaders and organisations are adjusting their 'positions' on issues that they know will not find favour with the new team. Iran dropped its oft stated retaliation to Israel's most recent attack and Meta's Zuckerberg has decided to stop censoring posts. There is an obvious change in the air. For those of us who were holding our breath for the election result, we are relieved. Surprising how good this change feels even after only a short time.
One of the more striking injustices in the recent past was the ICC's issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, the democratically elected PM and Defence minister of Israel. It mattered not that by all the rules of the ICC, they had no authority for taking such an unprecedented stance, even if these two individuals had a case to answer. Primarily because Israel is not a signatory to the ICC, and the ICC has no jurisdiction over countries that have not signed up to the court. Furthermore, the ICC can only charge individuals in countries without an independent judiciary. Israel does have a very active court that does not shy away from charging, trying and even incarcerating any Israeli who has broken the law. Indeed they have jailed a PM. Furthermore, case can only raised by member states. Palestine was given special dispensation to be able to raise the case, but Palestine is not a state and does not pass the primary requirements for being a 'state'.
I only repeated these issues for those who may missed the furore and fantatical analysis following the initial announcement of the warrants a few months ago.
Shamefully, only a few democratic member states declared the failure of the ICC to follow its own rules and refused to enforce the warrants. These include France, UK, Netherlands and Hungary.
Some others refused to make a statement about it and left the question of whether they would enforce it, sort of hanging. I am sad to say Australia and Canada were in this weak unprincipled group.
Some declared they would enforce the warrant. For example Poland, and Ireland. Poland is particularly shameful as they have effectively banned the Prime Minister of Israel from attending the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Leaders of principle should ALL refuse to go to Poland , in solidarity with Israel. They should go to Israel instead!
The USA, even under Biden, called the ICC's warrants a travesty. Trump has taken this a step further, promising serious sanctions against the ICC and the perpetrators of this travesty.
Most recently Mike Johnson announced new legislation to authorise the establishment of these sanctions.
Thank goodness the adults are back in charge. I expect the ICC will withdraw these unwarranted warrants to try to regain its reputation. However, it will not be enough. The ICC has 'soiled' its own bathwater and I could well see signatory countries abandoning it.
Why would any democratic country be willing to subject its citizens to laws determined by some external organisation not elected by its citizens? To me, that sounds totally undemocratic and I am surprised that any country signed up for it.
Reparations to whom?
We have heard many calls for reparations both for the slavery suffered by African Americans and more recently by indigenous peoples in various countries calling for reparations for colonisation. The very idea of someone who has not taken part in wrongdoing making some form of payment to someone who has not directly experienced the wrongdoing is ridiculous. We do not inherit the sins of our fathers. Of course, the idea is painted in more general flowery language that hides these basic truths. See the example below.
Flowery indeed! But even ignoring the injustice problem I noted above, there are many more practical problems.
Here are just some of the more obvious issues; -
How do you determine who is to receive reparations? After all some slaves were freed and then became slave-owners themselves. More importantly, the group has intermarried with the rest of the population. How do you determine who is eligible?
How do you determine who is to make the payment? Is it to be a total impost on the whole population? But what about migrants who entered the country after slavery was abolished?
Concerning Indigenous populations that claim some form of payment for past wrongs, one has to ask the same questions: Would they have to prove a wrong, and should payment be made only by those whose ancestors were, at the very least, in the country?
Again claims by Indigenous populations for the loss of their traditional way of life should be offset by the advantages that colonisation has brought. How do you then value these two factors?
Of course, proponents of these reparations know any consideration of the detail of the payments would make it unsellable, so they avoid individual payments. They want the state to pay, from tax or other sources, and the payments should be to some sort of collective organisation on behalf of the group. Sometimes, however, they want payments to individuals. Again, no arrangement will pass real scrutiny.
But the Left-leaning parties, have succeeded in building a sense of collective responsibility for the failures of many identity groups. Some Democrat controlled US states have reparations squarely on the agenda. But I expect the Constitution and Trump will move these well into the future.
Similarly, in Australia, there was an attempt in a so-called Voice referendum in 2023 to change the Australian Constitution to give special rights to Indigenous Australians. One of the following steps was for some form of reparations. However, the referendum was soundly defeated, with Australians opting to maintain equal treatment for all citizens.
In a rather old interview, Thomas Sowell covers the slavery issue and reparations. He notes among other interesting facts that the number of White slaves captured by Barbary pirates in Africa exceeded the total number of African American slaves in the US. No wonder there are no claims for reparations coming out of Africa.
See the full interview below.
NGOs driving antisemitism around the globe
Following a massacre perpetrated by Hamas on innocent Israelis, there has been an unprecedented sudden explosion of anti-Semitism around the globe. While the initial demonstrations were expressions of 'joy' by Jihadists, after Israel's expected and intended strong response, the demonstrations were widely reported as "spontaneous outpourings of support for the innocent victims of Israel's indiscriminate bombing". Were these really spontaneous? And were they really in support of Gaza's civilians?
The demonstrations in many large Western cities included extensive signage, posters, well-prepared speakers and indeed chants that strayed from being anti-Israel to unabashed anti-Semitism and not just support for Palestinians. Indeed, many carried signage in praise of Hamas and Hezbollah together with their flags, all in contravention of laws in many countries against support for proscribed terrorist organisations.
When individuals were interviewed by some independent journalists, for some reason main-stream media doesn't seem to do any investigative journalism nowadays, the individuals were blissfully unaware that they were calling for the genocide of all Jews, did not know from which river to which sea they wanted Palestine to be free. Asked where why they were carrying such a sign they said some guy was handing them out. So there is plenty of evidence that there were a organisations behind these demonstrations.
Most recently The Gatestone Institue revealed the organisations behind these worldwide anti-Israel demonstrations. Their article "NGOs Driving Antisemitism in Europe and around the Globe: Part I" reveals what many have suspected a network of Muslim and Marxist organisations have been funding and promoting demonstrations against Israel and the West.
"One of the most active NGOs, Samidoun ("Steadfast"), a "Vancouver-based terrorist group," was founded in 2012 -- ostensibly to "assist Palestinian prisoners" -- by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization in the United States, European Union and Canada. In practice, Samidoun is a front for the PFLP. The PFLP is an active terrorist organization, which participated in the October 7, 2023 atrocities, including in hostage taking, and shared celebratory videos and other material of the massacres online."
"Samidoun has branches throughout the West: In Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and in the United States. Samidoun also has branches in Lebanon, Iran and the West Bank and Gaza."
The Jihadists objective is to weaken the West and work towards a world caliphate, the Marxists to weaken the Western world for some sort of Socialist/Marxist nirvana.
In the west we find these ideas nonsensical, at least most of us do, but the idea that Western democracy is failing seems to convince the naive and the young, at least for a while. Too many of those who harbor some grudge against 'the system' will fall for any dogma that gives vent to their frustration. Yes, there are too many 'useful idiots' in our Western Societies. This is the product of an education system that has too often drifted from its goal to educate into outright indoctrination. But that is a topic for another day.
Hydrogen Hype is dying!
For some time, Green Hydrogen has been the clarion call of many a climate change zealot. Green Hydrogen remains a colourless gas of course, but because it is created using renewable energy it conveniently turns 'green'. Green as opposed to the 'Blue' Hydrogen that is produced using natural gas.
Despite substantial investment over 2 decades, very few Green Hydrogen plants have become economic. Most projects are announced with great fanfare on the front pages of our newspapers boasting substantial seed money from the government, ie our money. Then after a short period, you will find a small bi-line on the Business pages explaining that the project had to be abandoned due to unforeseen costs.
This is a scam! There are known serious issues with both the creation and the storage of hydrogen. It takes much more energy to produce Hydrogen from renewable energy than what is subsequently returned when the Hydrogen is used as a clean, green fuel. Storage is another serious issue. Hydrogen atoms are small and manage to insinuate themselves between the atoms that make up their containers, making them brittle, and given Hydrogen is explosive, containment remains a serious unsolved issue.
Given these facts and the many failures of Hydrogen projects in the past, we can only ask whether the governments are being played by businessmen seeking government money, or are the governments making the investment knowing that the projects will fail but rewarding business people who support them? Either way...
Given the recent history of Arab intrasnigence against Israel, one could be accused of overreacting to even a flicker of a change in attitude. A recent video posted by MEMRI is a veritable truth bomb delivered by a Kuwaiti writer directly on air. It is indeed a change 'devoutly to be wished', but perhaps just a flicker at this time. Still better than no flicker. Must watch!
Woke AI is useless!
The promise of AI is mind-boggling. Yet anyone who is trying to use it soon hits artificial walls. When I asked Copilot to produce an image of the Hamas-Israel conflict , to use in one of my posts, Copilot begged off responding;
"Sorry, I can't generate images related to conflicts or violence. But I can provide information or discuss the topic if you'd like. Let me know how I can help!"
Of course, this is only one such instance. We have all become aware of illustrations generated by AI to simple requests that are clearly nonsense, such as a request for a picture of the founding fathers of the US returning images of women and African Americans. This is not due to conflict avoidance but due to artificial restrictions imposed on the programs by the developers to promote DEI, ie Woke ideology. Of course, this makes the programs pretty useless. It may take a little time but the Woke virus will be inevitably removed and AI will flourish.
While the article focuses on the issues arising from an influx of a large number of migrants from a different culture in a small town, most of the issues are universal. The same problems have arisen in every country that has taken large numbers of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. These migrants certainly share many attributes of all migrants, such as a willingness to work hard to make a go of it. Many also try to fit in with the predominant culture, religion and values. Yet problems stem from a lack of employment opportunities, the need for welfare, language difficulties, schooling and housing. Despite the best intentions these inevitably cause a drain on the economy and friction with the population, especially when migrants appear to receive social benefits not received by many existing citizens.
And of course, the unspoken elephant in the room, is the problem of integrating Muslim migrants into a Judeo-Christian culture. Islam demands not only religious but also political loyalty. This is not surprising as many Islam-majority countries are theocracies. Not all migrants are strict adherents of course, and fewer still are dedicated Islamists, adhering to a jihadist interpretation of Islam. But it does not take many to cause serious societal problems.
We have been told for decades that migration builds a country, allows the mixing of cultures and provides economic benefits. The real-world experience with migration over the past 2 decades puts a lie to this. When accepting migrants, no country wants to replace their own culture. They want migrants to gradually but fully integrate into the society which they have joined. The only way to achieve this is to limit the numbers of migrants to a small proportion (<3%) of the population, and to ensure that those with a different cultural background are further limited.
Unfortunately, this is now the most pressing issue in much of the Western World, where migration from ME and Africa has exceeded my conservative numbers. As a consequence many countries are now struggling with the growth of significant opposition to migration and social conflict where migrant populations and resident populations end up forming vigilante gangs.
It is hard to put the migration genie back into the bottle.
Raw Hide
Clint Eastwood, burst onto our television screens 60 years ago as the archetype cowboy in RawHide. Soon after he always played the taciturn, cool, tough, principled hero in many a movie. His later career was as a director with academy award-winning films such as Bridges of Madison County and Million Dollar Baby.
In an industry that has become the epicenter of Woke ideology, Eastwood has remained steadfastly independent. Both in his personal and public persona, and his movies, he has maintained his values, patriotism, self-reliance, respect for the law, and freedom of individual action. A recent video covers his willingness to speak out against Woke culture.
Happy New Year!
2024 has been a tough year for too many around the world. Most notably those living in a war, zone; Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, and Russia. And also those in Sudan who are suffering a severe famine due to civil war between military rivals.
The ramifications of these wars have spread around the world. Most notably and somewhat surprisingly there has been a veritable explosion of anti-semitism seemingly triggered by a barbaric attack by Hamas terrorists on youths in Israel attending a music festival. Strangely, the antisemites celebrated these atrocities in many of the world's democratic cities. and even before Israel had taken any steps to fight back. The lack of a strong reaction to these outbursts of antisemitism has been shameful and has allowed ever-escalating demonstrations and anti-Semitic terrorist acts.
On the political front, we have seen multiple attempts by left-wing organisations to maintain power. In the US the Biden presidency has decayed as has Biden's health. Multiple attempts at stopping Trump have failed, and miraculously he was elected in a landslide. The reelection of Trump is the singular most remarkable event of the year. His victory in the face of unprecedented unscrupulous Democrat dirty tricks has elevated him. All around the world people are looking to Trump to stop the wars, stop the cultural extremists and right the world again. Alas, that is a total reversal of expectations at his last election.
We have also seen the slow but increasingly rapid failure of Wokism. Whether it be gender politics, DEI, Open Borders, or Indigenous rights. It seems the majority has voted against the Woke. Trump has already and will continue to reverse the Woke policies of the Biden administration.
In Australia, the defeat of the Voice referendum last year was the turning point for the popularity of the Labor government. Followed by the unprecedented deterioration of the standard of living, the high inflation, and high electricity costs, the Labor government is now likely to lose their majority and perhaps lose power altogether. We could have a return to a conservative government after just a single term of Labor. Given the damage Labor has managed to inflict on the country in just 3 years, let's all hope Labor is evicted early this year.
So like many years, we have had the good with the bad. Unfortunately, for many of us, it has been very difficult. On a personal note too, health issues inflicted their toll on both family members and friends.
May the next year bring peace, maintain health, and provide success in all our endeavours.
Wishing you all a more peaceful and healthy 2025.
Tech & Engineering Year in Review
The rate of technological change is ever-accelerating. Each year brings unpredicted developments many of which seem minor at the time but change the world. Here is a review of the changes over the past year.
Milei Miracle
In what can only be hailed as a miracle, in just 12 months Javier Milei the eclectic leader of Argentina has succeeded where even many supporters would have doubted. He has pulled Argentina out of recession, and to do so has demonstrated that conservative economics together with a good deal of guts and painful measures can turn around even a basket-case economy. Israel Hayom in an article titled "How Javier Milei pulled Argentina out of recession" highlights Milei's achievements.
At the time of his election, "Argentina was grappling with monthly inflation of 12.8% (a 211% annual rate). The government was printing money at a frenzied pace, resulting in a budget deficit of billions and a massive trade imbalance that created a foreign currency crisis. Poverty engulfed 42% of the population, the real exchange rate of the Argentine peso against the dollar was at a record low, and the economy was sliding into recession."
Yet in just 12 months
Argentina recorded its first positive economic growth in years—3.9%.
Inflation has dropped to just 2.4% monthly, a low for the last 4 years
the national budget is balanced for the first time in 15 years
closed the gap between official and black-market exchange rates.
Without a doubt, Milei has delivered economic recovery for what was a distressed nation.
Is there any morality in the UN?
Very little. But sometimes, some rare times, individual nations' representatives dare to call out the immorality of the mob . Here is one such case. I only managed to pick it up in a tweet. Alas that in itself shows how our media do not cover anything that goes against the zeitgeist.
here is the tweet. The included video is a must-see!
🇨🇿 voted NO at the #UN! The resolution's failure to clearly link a durable #ceasefire to the release of all the hostages risks sending a dangerously misguided signal to #Hamas terrorists that their reckless reign of terror may somehow be vindicated.
The drive to decarbonise has multiple consequences. If nuclear is excluded, as technically it is not a 'renewable' , intermittency inevitably lead to increaseds electricity costs. Increased electricity costs lead to de-industrialisation, and a downward spiral of living standards. Many an industrial nation drunk the Climate Change dogma and started the process to economic ruin. Electoral defeat of its advocates will inevitably cause a re-evaluation and a change in policy but not before severe economic harm. It is happening in many democratic countries. Most recently an article in The Gatestone Institute tells the story of Germany's self inflicted industrial strife. Titled "Europe: The Fall of the Holy Renewable Empire" it is a sobering read, concluding; -
"In short, the Dunkelflaute(see note below) is the symptom of a profound energy crisis, caused by an ideological, authoritarian, irrational and failed energy transition. Dependence on unreliable energy sources (wind, solar), combined with the hasty phase-out of nuclear power, has made Germany's electricity the most expensive in Europe and compromises the country's -- and ultimately the continent's -- energy autonomy. The consequences are manifold: environmental, with high CO2 emissions; economic, with industry in steep decline, and geopolitical, with Germany's neighbors fed up with its failing energy diktat."
Literally "flat, dark calm," Dunkelflaute is characterized by a simultaneous lack of wind and sun in winter, when demand for electricity in Germany is at its highest... On December 12 of this year, for example, German electricity production from wind and solar power was thirty times lower than the demand for it.
England, Australia, take heed. Do NOT repeat the mistakes of Germany.
A picture tells a thousand words…so here are 2000 words
Thank You, Israel!
With a provocative title The Gatestone Institute's recent article tells some home truths. The article titled
"It is time for Western nations to align with Israel, offer their full support, and take the necessary steps to ensure a safer, more secure future for all. Bravo, Israel! Thank you for your remarkable efforts in making the world a safer, freer, better place."
Hear! Hear!
Do Nuclear power workers suffer increased health risks?
Australia's Labor government is starting to panic. Once the LNP threw down the gauntlet by announcing a pro-nuclear stance, Labor had a fight on its hands. First they tried some scare tactics regarding the safety of nuclear for the general public, especially those who would live close to a reactor. Cartoons of fish with three eyes or two-headed Koalas were meant to convince the public that this was risky. But it didn't work. Everyone saw through the rather childish approach.
They then reverted to the economic argument "Renewables is the lowest cost form of electricity generation, significantly lower than coal and nuclear energy. " They referred to the CSIRO's Gencost Report and the AEMO's calculations. This too is not working. Primarily because both the CSIRO and AEMO have been fudging their figures; using incorrect lifespans, incorrect capacity ratings, incorrect parameters for backup storage and indeed omitting large swags of distribution costs not incurred with Coal or Nuclear. Moreover, they cannot hide the increasing use of nuclear worldwide.
Mmm, what to do? Why not try the scare tactics again but focus on the poor nuclear power workers this time. Think of the health effects on them! An ex-Greens candidate, Dr Baevis was chosen to deliver this message. Unfortunately her comments were quickly debunked. See Doctor slammed for ‘gold medal fear mongering’ on nuclear energy
The last two entries in the above table summarise the issue. The lowest annual dosage which creates an increased lifetime risk for cancer is 100,000 microSieverts, whereas the nuclear worker limit per annum is set at 50,000 microSieverts. The nuclear worker's annual limit is set in order to provide a margin of safety to ensure the lifetime risk of cancer is not elevated.
Just say Merry Xmas
Forget all the 'Woke' organisations that seem to think that to respect minorities, majorities can be disrespected. Organisations that believe that acknowledging Dawali, and Ramadan are mandatory but acknowledging Xmas is not.
I am pretty sure we are all over it. After the Voice referendum, after the Woolies Australia Day fiasco, we have shown that we will not patronize organisations that by their decisions show they do not want our business.
We are all awake to the insidious attempt at the minority trying to dictate to the majority. Yes, we should all treat minorities with respect. But respect is a two-way street. It means that minorities should not try to impose their preferences on the majority. I have no problem wishing people a Merry Xmas or a Happy Hannukah or Happy Dawali. I do not have to be a member of a religion to be respectful of others' beliefs.
So for today, Merry Xmas and Happy Hannukah to all!
Are EVs green?
Driven by the climate zealot's dream of a Fossil-Fuel-Free world, the sale of EVs has taken off with gusto. Yes, there are battery issues, and the recharging stations' shortage and recharging time make EV ownership somewhat less comfortable than the old Kingswood. Still those are surmountable options, over time, perhaps. Yes, the question remains are they good for the environment. Given the current battery technology, there are severe issues that any real environmentalis,t not completely looney with climate change zealotry, would advocate an EV.
Here is a short video covering the very real environmental issues with EVs.
Statins again
I vaguely recall a short piece on statins from an old episode of Beyond 2000 on the ABC. It raised controversial questions regarding the risk-benefit of using statins to reduce the risk of heart attacks. The episode had a number of consequences, an episode 'correcting the information' and then the resignation(?) of the presenter. Still, the cat was out of the bag and over the years I have kept a watchful eye for articles on statins and have personally concluded that its use was very questionable. I have raised it with friends who have been prescribed statins and they have in turn questioned their doctors. In almost all these cases the doctors insisted that 'your friend' was wrong. In one case the doctor agreed to stop the statins but only if the person had a zero calcium score. Indeed she did, and she is now off the pills. Chalk one up for 'your friend'.
This week I came across another statin sceptic, this one a respected heart specialist, Dr Aseem Malhotra. If you are taking statins you may be interested.
CSIRO updates Gencost report
I guess we should not be surprised that the CSIRO has once again updated its Gencost report. After all, it has been done several times already. I remember a time when a report from the venerable CSIRO would become the bible, accepted and quoted by all. That seems to be of another time.
I guess I should kind, it is hard for an organisation that is funded by the government to report objectively on an issue where the government has taken such an extreme stand. After all, claims that "nuclear is the most expensive form of electricity generation", as so often repeated by Chris Bowen, is not easy to justify given its worldwide use and real-world experience.
The CSIRO has made a commendable attempt at pleasing the government but those pesky engineers and opposition politicians keep reading the documents, identifying problems and poking fun at the reports. I guess that brings us to the most recent incarnation of the Gencost report. I won't quote the report but instead let you watch one of those pesky analysts poking fun at it.
I scan the headlines of several journals and happen to include the Sydney Morning Herald. It does not take a genius to pick up the political slant of these daily supposedly 'professional Journalism' papers. I guess they have a different understanding of what a 'professional journalist' does. Have a look at just this page from Tuesday's SMH. Every single headline screams anti Dutton bias. Shameful and definitely NOT professional.
