Newspoll’s transition period from YouGov to Pyxis Polling is not yet complete, leaving us without a new set of numbers in over five weeks; we are in an off week for the fortnightly Essential Research series; the monthly Resolve Strategic was last with us a fortnight ago; and while Roy Morgan’s two-party numbers should be with us today, I don’t think we get the primary votes until later, and it’s past time for a new post already. So in the absence of new poll results, let’s reheat some old ones, in the shape of the following LOESS trends from the four regular pollsters since the last election, on two-party preferred and the Labor, Coalition and Greens primary vote. Note that the two-party preferred data is based on my own calculation using previous election preference flows, and not whatever the pollster uses for its headline.
Notably:
• Resolve Strategic has been Labor’s best series throughout the term, and to the extent that it appears that may be starting to change, it’s largely down to their most recent result. The series has consistently been higher for Labor and lower for the Coalition than Newspoll, but tracked very closely for the Greens.
• Essential Research has been distinctive in its high ratings for the Greens, who have been tracking at about 14% throughout this year even before excluding the pollster’s undecided component of 5% to 6%.
• Roy Morgan’s Coalition vote took a dive late last year that didn’t register anywhere else, leading me to suspect a methodological change. It’s since been about equal with Newspoll and Essential on two-party (at least until very recently, which may prove an anomaly) and at the high end for all three on the primary vote, which is to say it’s been low for “others”. I can’t be entirely sure about that though, because the numbers in its primary votes table consistently sum to a few points north of 100% (UPDATE: It’s pointed out to me that the table is missing a column for One Nation, whose support you can estimate as the balance of the other columns, not counting the uncommitted one).
So disappointing to see the white-anting of Linda Burney .
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/linda-burney-reveals-medical-diagnosis-ahead-of-voice-launch-20230828-p5e00f.html
Quasar,
Absolutely. However, isn’t that the coda of the social media-fuelled age? Vilification from behind a computer screen.
From the previous thread:
‘Emma (AnonBlock)
Monday, August 28th, 2023 – 11:18 pm
Comment #849
It’s amazing how many people can’t see Alan Joyce for the conservative he is. That’s the power of stereotypes, people can’t see past his orientation to see that he’s still a rich person trying to avoid taxes, a corporate highflyer maximising profits over valuing customers, exploiting causes purely for perceived profit to the business’ bottom line. A moderate conservative, sure, but still a conservative.’
I knew that Alan Joyce was a fiscally conservative, socially liberal gay man from way back. I don’t hold that against him. I’ve known plenty of them. They vote their money and for the perpetuation of it into the future. But that was from back in the day when the Liberals actually thought seriously about wealth building and didn’t care whether you were gay, straight or any other colour of the rainbow. Nowadays it’s all about giveaways and distortions of the fiscal balance sheet in order to win votes.
I still respect Alan Joyce, though, for his decision to put the Yes 23 logo on the side of one of the QANTAS planes.
And speaking of how bloody useless the Coalition actually are at fiscally responsible policy, we have this debacle:
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/it-was-designed-to-save-money-but-this-scheme-blew-out-by-2-billion-20230827-p5dzp4.html
Cardboard drones and steak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9TzEuFUkPg
That’s it. This disgraceful Pope is proving himself to be an enemy of the Ukrainian people, as far as I can see:
“Pope Francis has been criticized for telling young Russian Catholics to uphold their heritage as “heirs of great Russia” and invoking the legacy of tsars Peter I and Catherine II.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko reacted on Aug. 28 by saying that similar narratives on Russia’s imperial legacy are used by Kremlin propaganda to justify its aggression against Ukraine and the killing of thousands of Ukrainians. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin himself referred to Peter I’s imperial holdings when providing reasons for Russia’s war of conquest against Ukraine.
The pope’s statement also attracted criticism from Estonia’s ex-president Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who called his words “revolting,” and from the Belarusian independent news outlet Nexta.
The pope made the speech during a video conference with the Russian Catholic youth in the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria in St. Petersburg on Aug. 25.
“Never forget your heritage. You are the heirs of great Russia: great Russia of saints, rulers, great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire – great, enlightened, (country) of great culture and great humanity,” the head of the Catholic Church said as heard in a video recording.
“Never give up this legacy, you are the heirs of the great Mother Russia, go ahead with it. And thank you. Thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russians.”
In the rest of Francis’s speech published by the Vatican, he also told the Russian youth to be “artisans of peace” and to “sow seeds of reconciliation.” Notably, the text released by the Holy See did not contain the controversial references to the Russian tsars.
While repeatedly denouncing the Russian invasion in the past and calling for peace, Francis has made several controversial statements regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War. Last year, he suggested that NATO expansionism may have played a role in provoking Russia into attacking its neighbor.”
https://kyivindependent.com/pope-criticized-for-lauding-legacy-of-russian-tsars/
‘Thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russians.’ What does Pope Francis mean by that?? Is he actually giving Russians his express blessing to carry on as they have been this past 18 months?
If the Pope does not come out immediately to personally and ferociously denounce Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Mikhail Mishustin, Sergei Lavrov, Sergei Shogu, Valerii Gerasimov, Patriarch Kirill, every member of the Russian Duma, every member of the Russian Government, every member of the Russian Armed Forces, and every Russian who supports any of the abovementioned war criminals, as agents of evil who must be opposed by every decent-hearted Russian with all their body, mind and soul, then Pope Francis is a willing accomplice himself of that genocidal evil Putin’s Russia has unleashed upon Ukraine.
Fascinating on news breakfast to hear about the medical cause of Linda Burney’s issues with her voice. I have enormous respect for her and what she has achieved, especially given where she came from. It is a shame though, as it really does make her seem like a weak public speaker, right at the time that she ironically needs her voice the most
It is quite an image though to picture playing the kazoo in her office to ‘warm up’ for question time…..
Politico has obtained the schedule of Donald Trump’s federal trial in Washington DC on charges related to overturning the 2020 election:
Oct. 9: Pretrial motions
Dec. 4: 404b evidence
Dec. 11: Disclosure of expert witnesses
Dec. 18: Disclosure of exhibits
Dec. 27: Motions in limine
Jan. 15: Proposed voir dire questions/jury instructions
The trial itself begins on 4 March 2024, per judge Tanya Chutkan’s ruling today.
[‘Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was booed and heckled on Sunday while attending a prayer vigil in Jacksonville for the three victims killed in what authorities say was a racially motivated attack at a local Dollar General.
DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, and his wife were among those who gathered in Jacksonville’s Grand Park neighborhood to commemorate the victims of the Saturday shooting. But not everyone was pleased that the governor was there.
As DeSantis approached the podium to speak, some people in the crowd began to boo; one person yelled out, “You’re not welcome here.” Later, someone shouted, “Your policies caused this,” according to videos of the event. As governor, DeSantis has loosened the state’s guns laws, and curbed efforts to teach Black history in public schools.’]
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/28/1196305761/desantis-jacksonville-vigil-booed
This pissant also misleadingly claims he was a Navy Seal:
https://news.yahoo.com/actual-seals-fume-desantis-navy-215216967.html
From previous thread:
”
Bizzcansays:
Monday, August 28, 2023 at 11:49 pm
I presume that any “echidna” approach to defence of Australia takes into account the 1000+ km range of modern missile systems? I’m sure the defence experts are wiser than I, but I’d thought you’d want to engage a hostile power as far away from your own shores (and civilians) as possible.
But I presume most people formally writing in this debate would be on the safe side of the Brisbane Line.
”
This is the attitude that led to disasters like Vietnam war, Afghanistan war, Iraq war2 and others.
We have the right to destroy and kill the lives of civilians of other (what we classify as hostile) countries because we are some how superior.
Ron De Santis’ prayers are useless and an affront to human dignity because his laws caused those African American deaths.
the costellow media the herald are going hard against Joe haylin yet saying nothing abbout Tayler martin who admitted herassing a colegue but is allowed to stay in parliament with no campaign against him costellow must have edatorial control of the herald and the age they are little more then liberal propergander units
there needs to be a roil comition in to our media it was a big mistake for keating to allow murdock and Fairfax to own a majority of our media even though the proccess surrounding the nsw transport bos seems similar as he was a labor staffer this is not the same as scott morrisons desition in appointing his then chief off staff phill gaetjones to head his own department treasury and then premoate him toe pm department when he became pm where was the herald campaign against gaetjones who also served with c ostellow from 1997 to 20077 in the same role
michaelia cash c an stay in her position despite refusing to cowoperate with afp and david van and martin can stay in parliament despite being acused of abuse plus maidens atempts to triy and rabilitate corear back bencher laming
[‘Judge Tanya S. Chutkan rejected efforts by the former president’s legal team to postpone the trial until 2026.
A federal judge on Monday set a trial date of March 4 in the prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, rebuffing Mr. Trump’s proposal to push it off until 2026.
The decision by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to start the trial in March amounted to an early victory for prosecutors, who had asked for Jan. 2. But it potentially brought the proceeding into conflict with the three other trials that Mr. Trump is facing, underscoring the extraordinary complexities of his legal situation and the intersection of the prosecutions with his campaign to return to the White House.
The district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., has proposed taking Mr. Trump to trial on charges of tampering with the election in that state on March 4 as well. Another case, in Manhattan, in which Mr. Trump has been accused of more than 30 felonies connected to hush-money payments to a porn actress in the run-up the 2016 election, has been scheduled to go to trial on March 25.
And if the trial in Washington lasts more than 11 weeks, it could bump up against Mr. Trump’s other federal trial, on charges of illegally retaining classified documents after he left office and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. That trial is scheduled to begin in Florida in late May.’] – NYT
This trial is the most serious & should proceed first, even though charges brought under the Georgia RICO statute would, were Trump to be found guilty, preclude a self-pardon. It’s also noteworthy to mention that his trial starts ‘the day before Super Tuesday, when 15 states are scheduled to hold Republican primaries or caucuses.’
Right-winger cheers Atlanta Trump mural as a win until it goes horribly wrong
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/28/2190138/-Right-winger-cheers-Atlanta-Trump-mural-as-a-win-until-it-goes-horribly-wrong
“Within hours of Donald Trump’s Fulton County jail mugshot getting plastered around the world, right-wingers were pretending that having the leader of their political movement indicted four separate times was a good thing. Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk’s inhalation of copium included calling it the “most iconic mugshot in American history,” and Lara Trump told Newsmax it would “backfire” on Trump’s detractors. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene shared a poorly photoshopped mugshot of her own in the most superficial form of solidarity available to her.
On “The Ingraham Angle,” Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo proposed that the mugshot would launch Donald Trump into a cultural landscape with famous musicians and “outlaws,” such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, and Tupac Shakur. He went so far as to say he had heard a “Black lady” call Trump “a gangsta,” which to Arroyo meant Trump now “has cred among a new block of voters that perhaps have never given him a serious look and now they are looking again.” In Arroyo and other right-wingers’ imaginations, Black people believe that anyone who gets a mugshot is cool”
Trump’s top aide Meadows testifies at hearing on bid to move Georgia election case to federal court – by Associated Press
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/28/2190168/-Trump-s-top-aide-Meadows-testifies-at-hearing-on-bid-to-move-Georgia-election-case-to-federal-court
”
Meadows, who was charged earlier this month along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other people, was questioned by both his lawyers and prosecutors — with a couple of Trump’s attorneys sitting in the courtroom listening in. Cross-examination was set to continue after a lunch break. After the defense finishes its case, it will be the prosecution’s turn to call witnesses.
Meadows’ attorney George J. Terwilliger III asked him about his duties as Trump’s chief of staff and then walked him through the acts accused in the indictment to ask if he had done those as part of his job. For most of the acts listed, Meadows said he had performed them as part of his official duty.
In cross-examination, prosecutor Anna Cross ticked through acts laid out in the indictment to ask Meadows what federal policy was being advanced. He frequently answered that the federal interest was in ensuring accurate and fair elections, but she accused him several times of not answering her question.
Trump attorneys Steve Sadow and Jennifer Little were in the courtroom, as were attorneys for at least one other defendant.”
‘frednk says:
Tuesday, August 29, 2023 at 6:38 am
Cardboard drones and steak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9TzEuFUkPg‘
——————-
Thank you. Great link, IMO.
Man. So much going on in US politics atm. Polls on Biden’s age, Sanders strong backing of Biden, court hearings, GOP debates, some weather that may bring climate back into the fore, and some unions looking to go rogue.
Could we twist Adrians arm for a thread?
#weatheronPB
Held up by cool air,
sky dioramas float by,
moving easily.
TK, Asha and others interested in Ramaswamy
Ramaswamy interview on “Meet the Press”
Ramaswamy on what he would have done in Mike Pence’s shoes on Jan. 6
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/28/2190117/-Ramaswamy-on-what-he-would-have-done-in-Mike-Pence-s-shoes-on-Jan-6
“Ramaswamy started by saying Pence missed “a historic opportunity” to “reunite the country.” How? By not becoming king of the world and changing all of our election laws with a declaration of wanting to do so.
Ramaswamy went on to say that what he would have said was, “We need single day voting on Election Day. We need paper ballots and we need government-issued ID matching the voter file. And if we achieve that, then we have achieved victory.” Todd then asked Ramaswamy whether or not he would have certified the results of the election on Jan. 6.
”
“So in my capacity as president of the Senate, I would have led through that level of reform. Then on that condition, certified the election results, served it up to the president, President Trump, then to sign that into law and on January 7, declare to the reelection campaign pursuant to a free and fair election.
Okaaaaaay. So you would have quickly gotten the entire Senate to pass a bill, have it sent and passed by the House, and then signed by Donald Trump into law. And the following day you, the vice president of the United States, would “declare to the reelection campaign pursuant to a free and fair election.” What does that even mean? Nothing. It literally means nothing.”
BK’s dawn patrol is back on the old thread.
Upgrading to an EV is necessary, and won’t spoil your weekend …
Our resident SUV-driving cooker might want to take note.
Morning all. I have to agree with Enough Already’s comments on Pope Francis’s bizarre praise of Russian culture, with no mention of its dark sides in internal serfdom and genocides both internal and external.
Russian church patriarch Kyril is an overt supporter of the Ukraine war. What does Francis hope to achieve siding with such people?
Blessed are the warlords.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
The cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is growing at an unsustainable rate and unless it has an overhaul, political support for the scheme is at risk, a global expert on disability support systems has warned. Jewel Topsfield writes that Dr Simon Duffy said it was concerning that the NDIS seemed to keep growing as a share of GDP, with the scheme’s latest annual financial sustainability report projecting expenses to increase from 1.48 per cent of GDP in 2022-23 to 2.55 per cent in 2031-32.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/growing-sense-of-crisis-overhaul-needed-for-ndis-or-support-will-wane-review-says-20230828-p5dzwa.html
We moan about them, complain they don’t work hard enough. But Australia has a shortage of federal MPs. For democracy’s sake, we need more, argues Shane Wright.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/if-there-s-one-thing-australia-needs-it-s-more-federal-mps-no-really-20230818-p5dxhx.html
Data from 1991 until today shows how apartment buildings of between one and three storeys have fallen from 15-20 per cent of all dwellings approved in NSW to less than 3 per cent in recent years, sinking below 1 per cent in some months.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-charts-that-show-sydney-s-so-called-missing-middle-is-real-20230821-p5dy72.html
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has confronted a whispering campaign about her health by revealing she had a so-called “mini-stroke”, followed by surgery for a hole in her heart. Jacqui Maley reports that the medical issues left her with an alteration in her voice, she said, although she was unclear about the medical reason for the vocal change, and misremembered key details of the event, including the date.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/linda-burney-reveals-medical-diagnosis-ahead-of-voice-launch-20230828-p5e00f.html
A successful No vote against the Indigenous voice to parliament would be a victory for democracy, says Greg Sheridan.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/successful-no-vote-against-the-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-would-be-a-victory-for-democracy/news-story/905e21e1e0594a5fad0e674f7d61d59f?amp
Though the campaign for a referendum recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the First Nations people of this continent formally begins only tomorrow, the debate has already revealed much about the state of politics in the nation, writes Paul Bongiorno.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/08/29/voice-challenges-albanese-government/
Today Andrew Leigh will use a National Press Club speech to help launch the Australian Centre for Evaluation, a body funded in the May 2023 budget with an initial $10m over four years to design better policies.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/29/labor-australian-centre-for-evaluation
In response to increasing student visa fraud, the Government is rolling out measures to stamp it out, writes Dr Abul Rizvi.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/government-seeking-to-address-student-visa-rorting,17847
According to the SMH, The Labor-appointed NSW Transport Secretary Josh Murray and his wife both made personal donations to the woman who would become transport minister, Jo Haylen, less than a year before she hand-picked him for the role despite warnings his lack of experience meant his appointment represented a “significant risk”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-transport-secretary-donated-to-haylen-before-she-hand-picked-him-for-role-20230828-p5dzzp.html
And its editorial says the appointment has shades of an earlier scandal.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/minns-government-appointment-has-shades-of-an-earlier-scandal-20230828-p5dzy6.html
Defence has defied warnings it is paying too much for its vast contractor workforce under a system that has handed $4.6bn in contracts to an exclusive club of companies to support the acquisition and sustainment of ADF equipment. Ben Packham writes that the department’s major service provider panel – creates in 2018 and branded by smaller players as a “cartel” – awards lucrative work to four contracting “teams” without requiring them to compete for contracts.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/defences-cosy-khaki-club-armed-with-46bn-in-deals/news-story/1abf4b9acd23cdd9970f959151b0f99c?amp
Mike Foley tells us that pollution from transport and agriculture is on the rise, putting those sectors in the sights for reduction targets and potentially controversial policies.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-s-emissions-reduction-burden-shifting-to-political-hot-potatoes-20230828-p5dzw1.html
Clean transport campaigner Ben Lever gives us 10,000 reasons why electric vehicles won’t ‘end the weekend’. He took an electric ute on a long trip through the regions.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/electric-vehicles-won-t-end-the-weekend-my-10-000km-road-trip-shows-why-20230823-p5dyvn.html
The NSW Liberal Party is being harangued by the state’s corruption watchdog to produce documents for an ongoing investigation. It’s the case that revolves around The Hills Shire Council and claims (ventilated in parliament) that party officials were funnelling cash to install friendly representatives. The purpose of this alleged grift was to help out Sydney developer and outrageous galoot Jean Nassif, who’s wanted by police and is hiding out somewhere in rural Lebanon (and still harping on like a putz). What’s even more amusing is how the NSW Liberal Party appears to have tried to smear out its dealings with the Independent Commission Against Corruption and perhaps been less than helpful with its provision of records. Hence the ICAC’s need to serve multiple notices on the party compelling it to produce documents.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/nsw-liberal-party-plays-down-icac-probe-energy-one-takeover-trauma/news-story/3360a5b111886e208a7c9b2d07441c6f?amp
Qantas boss Alan Joyce has again defended the government’s choice to reject an application by Qatar Airways for more flights to Australia, hours after assistant treasurer Stephen Jones said it was in the national interest to protect Qantas from foreign carriers. Amelia Maguire describes how Joyce received a fierce two-hour grilling from the Senate select committee in Melbourne on the cost of living crisis, just days after the airline group – which controls 60 per cent of the domestic market through carriers Qantas and Jetstar – revealed a record $2.47 billion profit.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-boss-grilled-on-airfares-cost-of-living-by-senate-inquiry-20230828-p5e026.html
The AFR’s Chanticleer says that the pummelling Alan Joyce received at the hands of a Senate committee shows how political heat over cost-of-living pressures is rising, and Joyce’s grilling is a warning for other CEOs.
https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/joyce-grilling-is-a-warning-for-ceos-20230828-p5e01l
The Australian Government’s public analysis of climate risk, our greatest threat, is dangerously misleading. The Intergenerational Report 2023 is a prime example. By dumbing down the implications of climate change with simplified economic models, the IGR and similar reports are institutionalising the global failure to face climate reality, argue David Spratt and Ian Dunlop.
https://johnmenadue.com/fatal-mistake-intergenerational-report-misleads-on-climate-risks/
The ACT’s acting top prosecutor has responded to criticism of his office’s approach to sexual assault cases, saying it is “wrong as a matter of logic and common sense” to suggest everyone who is acquitted should never have stood trial. Anthony Williamson SC has sought to explain the office’s decision-making processes, which have been described as “opaque”, in the wake of what he called “considerable media commentary”.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8325888/wrong-as-a-matter-of-logic-acting-dpp-addresses-criticism-of-sex-offence-cases/?cs=14329
Network Ten is seeking to rely on expert evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case about sexual assault victims’ typical behaviour and Brittany Higgins’ level of intoxication on the night she alleges she was raped by Lehrmann in Parliament House. Michaela Whitbourn reports that the Federal Court trial against the broadcaster is slated to start in Sydney on November 22. Barrister Tim Senior, acting for Ten, told the court at a preliminary hearing on Monday that the network would call 28 witnesses, including Higgins and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/ten-wants-to-use-expert-evidence-on-brittany-higgins-level-of-intoxication-20230828-p5dzwo.html
Federal police received 28 allegations of misconduct by parliamentarians, their staff or “official establishments” in the year after Brittany Higgins’ allegations first became public knowledge. But the Australian federal police has declined to outline any further details, including which state or territory police force it passed the reports to for further investigation. In response to a Senate question on notice, published on Monday, the AFP said it had received 28 allegations that involved parliamentarians, their staff or “official establishments” between February 2021 and February 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/29/afp-received-28-misconduct-allegations-involving-mps-staff-or-official-establishments-in-12-months
A West Australian MP has been found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl and has automatically been disqualified from parliament. A jury of six women and six men found James Hayward, 53, guilty of two counts of indecent dealing charges. He was acquitted of two other charges including the allegation he showed the child how to search for pornography online. Hayward did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody until his sentencing hearing in October.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/former-wa-nationals-mp-james-hayward-guilty-of-child-sex-abuse/news-story/b4bce053efed827a24863833ea0dee42?amp
As a woman in a man’s field, Roz Kelly suffered sleazebags like Rubiales. They are all on notice, she declares.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/as-a-woman-in-a-man-s-field-i-ve-suffered-sleazebags-like-rubiales-they-are-all-on-notice-20230827-p5dzso.html
The Australian Public Service Commission released the second capability review of the Department of Health and Aged Care on 18 August. While the review is not as scathing as the first review in 2014, it still sets out a challenging internal reform agenda for new Secretary Blair Comley, explains Charles Maskell-Knight.
https://johnmenadue.com/dhac-review-recommends-improved-strategic-policy-capability-data-driven-metrics/
How did the National Archives of Australia, whose core function is to ‘collect, preserve, manage and make public Australia’s most significant historical records, become instead an obstacle to public access and a barrier to knowledge of our own history? Minister for the Arts Tony Burke must act to reverse the Morrison government’s attack on the spirit of the Archives Act, urges Jenny Hocking.
https://johnmenadue.com/archives-access-and-history-can-the-national-archives-democratic-function-survive/
Brad Emery proposes a set of rules for elevator etiquette. He might be on the money here.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/you-ve-forgotten-how-to-use-an-elevator-lift-your-game-20230823-p5dytj.html
Ukrainian forces pierced the first line of Russian fortifications in the nation’s southeast and are fighting to widen the breach, the nation’s defence chief said, in a bid for a potential breakthrough. Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Ukrainian soldiers, on foot and mostly at night, had made slow progress in clearing heavily mined areas to create approach corridors for a larger force that has now fought through the first main line of Russian trenches, bunkers and tanks traps.
https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/expanding-our-foothold-ukraine-says-it-has-pierced-russian-line-of-defence-20230829-p5e058.html
A concerted and co-ordinated effort to undermine and sabotage an election is one of the gravest crimes anybody can commit in a democracy. If Trump had succeeded, the US would have slid towards an autocracy. There can be no gainsaying this. It is absurd to blame Democrats for Trump’s indictments given that those most damning of Trump are his former Republican staff and officials, writes Troy Bramston who concludes by saying, “if Trump wins, he will, as flagged, move to terminate democracy. The US, and the world, will pay a heavy price if Trump regains the presidency.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/us-world-should-fear-new-donald-trump-presidency/news-story/7fff226ac4faec40223166f291977bca?amp
Whether or not he is convicted, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president, writes Lloyd Green.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/28/trump-republican-presidential-nominee-conviction
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
David Rowe
Cathy Wilcox
Matt Golding
Mark David
Dionne Gain
John Shakespeare
Alan Moir
Andrew Dyson
Leak
From the US
UK Cartoons (Nadine Dorries resignation edition):
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/27/nadine-dorries-departure-is-relief-for-sunak-but-byelection-holds-danger
Macca RB (from the last thread),
Our tree waratahs are seedlings, so no flowers any time soon!
We collected them from my in-laws, who have had them in for about 8 years, in which time they have grown to about 8m. Interesting that yours are flowering but theirs, in Brisbane, are not.
The gas industry is pushing back on efforts to stop installing gas in new homes. They are not even pretending to justify this environmentally or economically. This is pure self interest from an industry with a finite life.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-29/push-to-ban-new-household-gas-730/102783164
Loss of job claims are bogus in an era where there is a shortage of trades like electricians and gas fitters that will rapidly get work elsewhere. Ironically, gas fitters will have plenty of work removing gas from millions of existing homes. Electricians will get plenty of work fitting solar PV, electric heat pumps, induction cooktops and reverse cycle AC.
Thanks Mavis. From your quote it appears the judge ignored T****’s request and worked with what was available logistically to give the DOJ as close as possible to what they wanted. I suppose if as a defendant you’re not prepared to be reasonable with the judge then you’re going to learn the hard way.
While dissapointing, I am not very surprised by the comments. One has to remember that the pope is South American, and due to the meddling and chaos created by the United States on that continent during the Cold War, the Russians enjoy a much more positive opinion from the viewpoint.
Socrates @ #23 Tuesday, August 29th, 2023 – 8:11 am
Grim reading …
https://johnmenadue.com/fatal-mistake-intergenerational-report-misleads-on-climate-risks/
Cue the partisans to chime in and tell us what a wonderful job Albo is doing … for Rio Tinto.
Long Memory
You raise a good point about Francis’s Argentine origins and background.
Of course that also shows he is no more immune to historic cultural prejudices than any other man.
Thanks for the roundup BK. Reading the description of Ukrainian efforts to break Russian defenses near Tokmac sounds a lot like world war two battles like El Alamein than anything more modern.
“ Ukrainian forces pierced the first line of Russian fortifications in the nation’s southeast and are fighting to widen the breach, the nation’s defence chief said, in a bid for a potential breakthrough. Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Ukrainian soldiers, on foot and mostly at night, had made slow progress in clearing heavily mined areas to create approach corridors for a larger force that has now fought through the first main line of Russian trenches, bunkers and tanks traps.”
https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/expanding-our-foothold-ukraine-says-it-has-pierced-russian-line-of-defence-20230829-p5e058.html
Socrates, I was especially appalled by the Pope’s exhortation to those young Russians, in the context of invoking memories of past Russian imperial grandeur, to ‘go ahead with it’. So much for preaching peace! I suspect Pope Francis only ever means for the West to be pacifist, not Russia.
Thanks BK!
Troy Bramston has articulated why I personally have been focused on the Trump circus all these years. If the US becomes an authoritarian regime, the rest of the world is also stuffed.
Forget about climate change policies etc. the whole globe will become a very unstable shit show.
Having said that. I am confident that Trump who has always been a useful idiot for those who are actually the power behind him, will not prevail.
I don’t have any patience left because it has taken a heck of a lot longer than I expected. But Trump and Putin and the rest of the agitators are losing power as we speak.
It’s just going to be a very messy effort getting there.
Despite the usual carry on in the msm that Biden is too old blah blah blah.
He will be remembered as the most consequential president of the past 100 hundred years.
I really don’t get what Pope Francis is getting at.
Thankfully Ukraine are on their way to winning this war, and getting the Russians out.
Thanks BK!
There was a comment yesterday questioning whether we could really get to net zero in electricity generation or whether there was still a need for “baseload power”. The answer is “not exactly”.
We really don’t need “baseload power in terms of demand any more. Night time demands are low and could be met by wind power, especially if offshore.
However there is a need for a small percentage of “grid firming power” to make sure the energy grid stays stable. This could come from pumped hydro storage, very large batteries or a small amount of gas. It will also depend on how well we upgrade the grid. A smarter grid that draws on distributed (i.e. home) batteries might also need less grid firming.
Renewable energy can provide the vast bulk of our power, but it can be quite difficult to eliminate the last 5% or so with renewable energy. A colleague in the power industry says that since we haven’t really done this before, engineers are not certain what is the most efficient solution for the last 5%. We will learn by doing it.
Of course none of this takes away from the urgency to build renewable energy able to generate 95% of our power ASAP.
Are Qld tree Waratahs actually Waratahs?
Trump cases and GOP primaries:
January 15 – E. Jean Carroll CIVIL DEFAMATION TRIAL begins; Iowa caucuses
January 23 – Possible New Hampshire primary
February 8 – Nevada caucuses
February 24 – South Carolina primary
February 27 – Possible Michigan primary
March 2 – Possible Michigan caucuses; Idaho caucuses
March 3 – DC party-run primary
March 4 – FEDERAL TRIAL on 2020 election criminal charges begins; North Dakota caucuses
March 5 (Super Tuesday) – Primaries in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah caucuses, primaries in Vermont, Virginia
March 12 – Primary in Georgia, Hawaii caucuses, primaries in Mississippi, Washington
March 19 – Primaries in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio
March 23 – Primary in Louisiana
March 25 – Trump’s CRIMINAL TRIAL in New York related to 2016 hush-money payments begins
April 2 – Primaries in Delaware, potentially New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin
April 23 – Primary in Pennsylvania
April 30 – Primary in Connecticut
May 7 – Primary in Indiana
May 14 – Primaries in Maryland, Nebraska, West Virginia
May 20 – CRIMINAL TRIAL in classified documents case begins
May 21 – Primaries in Kentucky, Oregon
June 4 – Primaries in Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota
July 15-18 – GOP convention in Milwaukee
Dead right Soc. Getting wrapped up in an argument about whether it is 95% or 100% right now is nothing more than a smokescreen. By the time we get to 95%, we’ll have a better understanding of how to get the remaining 5%. There are many climate change denialists that use the argument “we can’t get to 100% so why bother even doing anything!!!! muh nucular!!” to justify their opposition to renewables. The reality is we need to get to 50%, 75%, 85%, and 95% first. Then we worry about 100%
The pilot, crew chief and squadron executive officer have been identified as the three US marines killed in Sunday’s Osprey crash on the Tiwi Islands.
Captain Eleanor V LeBeau, 29, Corporal Spencer R Collart, 21, and Major Tobin J Lewis, 37, were killed when the MV-22B Osprey crashed and caught fire during a military training exercise.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-29/us-marines-killed-osprey-aircraft-crash-tiwi-islands-identified/102786452
Vic, there is the thought that the US going to pot might be ok for climate change. Firstly, US consumption may fall. Secondly, the rest of the world may be more willing to slap carbon taxes on US fossil fuelled goods if they are led by lunatics.
Team Katich
If the USA becomes an authoritarian regime, it will be even worse for climate change policies. They will have absolutely no interest in mitigating global warming
The Pope and his government deal in souls and not trade goods.
What this rather tongue in cheek comment means is that the priorities of the Vatican are not the same as a standard nation state. Their national interest is to keep church properties and income safe, keep their ability to preach safe, and ensure their congregations keep turning up week in week out. That outcomes sees Vatican ‘balance of trade’ remain positive.
The morals and ethics of the left is not something the Vatican trades in.
Socrates @ #37 Tuesday, August 29th, 2023 – 8:50 am
Actually, the answer is “Yes”. It is just that some people confuse baseload power with a baseload power plant – i.e. a power plants designed specifically to deliver baseload power.
From Wikipedia …
Next time you are our at night, have a look at the number of streetlights and buildings that are permanently lit all night (for no apparent reason), and think about their power demands. That’s a good example of baseload power. But baseload power does not need to be provided by a baseload power plant, which is typically fossil-fueled. Wind, Hydro and/or batteries are perfectly capable of doing the job.
Victoria @ #43 Tuesday, August 29th, 2023 – 9:02 am
What do you mean “If”?
layer One says:
Tuesday, August 29, 2023 at 8:10 am
BK’s dawn patrol is back on the old thread.
Upgrading to an EV is necessary, and won’t spoil your weekend …
BK @ #865 Tuesday, August 29th, 2023 – 7:48 am
Mike Foley tells us that pollution from transport and agriculture is on the rise, putting those sectors in the sights for reduction targets and potentially controversial policies.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-s-emissions-reduction-burden-shifting-to-political-hot-potatoes-20230828-p5dzw1.html
Clean transport campaigner Ben Lever gives us 10,000 reasons why electric vehicles won’t ‘end the weekend’. He took an electric ute on a long trip through the regions.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/electric-vehicles-won-t-end-the-weekend-my-10-000km-road-trip-shows-why-20230823-p5dyvn.html
Our resident SUV-driving cooker might want to take note.
_______________
Or you could read the report: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-greenhouse-gas-inventory-march-2023.pdf
To help you out in case you haven’t the time, this is the relevant text:
“Emissions from transport over the year to March 2023 increased 6.4% in actual terms, compared with the previous year (Figure 10). This was driven by a 63.4% increase in emissions from domestic jet fuel consumption, a 5.0% increase in emissions from road petrol consumption and 1.4% increase in emissions from road diesel consumption over the year to March 2023 (Figure 11).
Despite this large year-on-year increase, overall transport sector emissions remain 3.6% below the levels observed in the year to December 2019, immediately before the COVID pandemic. This is largely due to persistently lower levels of emissions from road petrol use.
In contrast, emissions from the domestic aviation sector have continued their sharp rise since the lows of the COVID pandemic and are now at their highest quarterly level since their peak in the December 2017 quarter.”
I shall let you parse this as I am certain that what you take away from this is very different to what I take away from it, which is we really need to get domestic aviation use down – reduce tourism even? And remove diesel fuel rebates. But best focus on someone’s old SUV 😉
Player One and Pi
Regardless of definitions I think we are agreed that we need to build renewable energy and a suitable grid sufficient to provide 95% of power demands ASAP.
The various options we have canvassed should supply the last 5% or so.
Roy Morgan: One in five (20%) Australians believe AI presents a risk of human extinction in the next twenty years.
Top 5 reasons are listed below:
15% Job losses
13% Need for regulation
11% Open to misuse
10% Unknown consequences
8% It will create new problems
Rover Pragyan spots 4-meter diameter crater on Moon, changes path.
Upon detecting the crater, the Isro team swiftly commanded the rover to retrace its path and chart a new course to ensure its safety.
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/chandrayaan-3/story/pragyan-rover-changes-route-due-to-massive-crater-on-moon-2427765-2023-08-28