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A lot of people can't see the woods for the trees. Some who are unhappy with the rise in popularity of One Nation delude themselves that the problem is all One Nation and it's supporters who their critics perceive as a bunch of ignorant, redneck idiots. Fact one: One Nation wouldn't be having this rise in popularity if the major parties were doing a half decent job. Fact two: The major parties have been complacent for too long, and as long as they have their comfortable two party system of your turn/my turn without any major threat to their voter base, they will never get any better. For sure, a lot of the rise in One Nation is a protest vote against that laziness, complacency, and disregard for ordinary Australians that a lot of people see in the major parties. The voter erosion to One Nation is the kick in the pants that the status quo needed and still needs. They won't voluntarily get any better, so they need a boot up the rear end like this to to make them get off their backsides and start performing better to provide Australians with what they want and need from a government. If the threat of losing voters in possible election losing numbers keeps the major parties on their toes, in my opinion that has to be a good thing and an incentive to provide good government. I'm not defending One Nation or any other party, but just trying to point out the small minded nature of just blaming One Nation and their supporters and dismissing them as fools. Throwing rocks at them is not going to make them go away. You need to ask yourself why. Why are so many people abandoning parties they have supported for years. The problem the major parties have is not One Nation. The problem is within themselves. They need to ask themselves why do so many people not want to vote for them any more. To be honest, nothing much in politics surprises me, but I have been surprised lately by the sheer numbers of people I run into who say they are changing their vote to One Nation at the next federal election. A lot of these people are the last people in the world where I would have expected to see that. There's a problem for the One nation critics who are stuck in that rut of name-calling, ridicule and stone throwing in their stereotyping of supporters. While they're so distracted doing that, they're not seeing what's really happening. There's a big groundswell of a protest vote building, and I think it will keep rolling. I don't personally think what's happening now is just a flash in the pan. The way I see it, the Greens are immune from it. The Coalition has already taken significant hits and a lot of it by their own hand. And Labor, well I wouldn't be too complacent about if I was one of their supporters. At the moment, they are almost guaranteed to win the next election, and that's about as far ahead as most pollies can think, but they are already starting to bleed blue collar votes and that loss will continue to grow. For anyone who doesn't want to see One Nation grow in size, the challenge is how to create an environment where those lost voters will return. That's where they need to spend their energy. Ridiculing and blaming those lost voters for leaving in the first place is unproductive, and as I said earlier, small minded.

People often express disbelief that a gas making up only 0.04% of the atmosphere could have any meaningful impact. Consider ozone (03). Its concentration varies with altitude, peaking between about 15 km and 35 km at just 2–8 parts per million (ppm). By comparison, carbon dioxide (CO₂) sits around 420–425 ppm and is rising by roughly 2.4–2.6 ppm per year. Ozone exists in far smaller concentrations than CO₂, yet its role is critical—without the ozone layer, life on Earth would not survive. Small percentages can still have enormous effects.

A prodigee of Abbott? Be careful what you ask for.

The Moon Photos from Artimus II

Absolute shite. Trump couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.

Did his lips move?

The bestest goldest world leader has got it covered. Already, the *resident of the United States now states that the reason for this war (which isn't a WAR) is to destroy the nuclear weapons program that he claims to have already destroyed last year, while simultaneously claiming that the objective of the war is to open the strait of Hormuz that was already open before he started the war, but he is not going to open it. He doesn't need anyone's help to win the war. He already won the war on the first day anyway, and is currently winning the war, but demands help to win the war, and needs no help to win the war. I hope this clears up any confusion, which was all caused by corrupt Democrat fake news outlets.

I rarely repost Farcebook pages, but this one is spot on ...... "Senator Claude Malhuret stood up in the French Senate this week and systematically torched every single member of Trump's cabinet. Nobody was spared. Not one. "A year ago, here in France, I compared Trump's presidency to Nero's Court. I was wrong. It's the miracle court," Malhuret began. Then he went through the roster. "An anti-vaxxer, former heroin addict as Minister of Health." (That's RFK Jr) "A climate-skeptic Minister of Economy." (That's Scott Bessent) "An alcoholic TV host, Minister of the Armed Forces." (That's Pete Hegseth) "An old Qatar agent, Minister of Justice." (That's Pam Bondi, whose former firm collected $115,000 a month lobbying for Qatar) "A groupie of Putin, Minister of National Security." (That's Tulsi Gabbard) Then he pulled back and went bigger. "A Turkish proverb says: When a clown settles in a palace, he does not become king. It is the palace that becomes a circus." Malhuret pointed out that since Trump created his so-called Board of Peace, he has launched more military strikes than Biden did in his entire term. He called out the Boeing jet Qatar gifted Trump worth $400 million. He called out the stock market manipulation that only insiders benefit from. He called out the Gulf investment deals enriching Trump and his family. "Any one of these conflicts of interest would have caused an immediate procedure of impeachment here," Malhuret said. "But we are not here. We are in MAGA's America where public business is conducted in favor of private interests." Then came the line that cut deepest. "Every time the Epstein affair resurfaces, bombs explode somewhere in the world and cause a distraction." This is how the world sees us now. Not through Fox News. Not through Truth Social. Through the cold, clear eyes of allied nations watching a great country be hollowed out by crooks. Every American should hear this speech. Share it everywhere."

I know I shouldn't post this, and Nev will drag me over the coals, but this way I can say I had a head job from an Asian lady at the shopping centre for $15, and not be lying.

He's just an uncouth C**t.

It's all Litespeed's fault. He mentioned Abbott on page one, and that was enough to send Nev into his usual rants. DO NOT mention anything other than Ukraine reports in this thread. If you must, start a new topic.

When anyone presents a quote, I always look for its source. I can't find any evidence that this was ever said. 🔎 Where the “2 metres in 10 years” claim comes from There is no verifiable speech, interview, or document where Al Gore says: Sydney Harbour will rise 2 metres in 10 years What does exist is a mix of: 1. 🌊 Misinterpreted statements from An Inconvenient Truth In An Inconvenient Truth, Gore discusses: Potential multi-metre sea level rise But only if major ice sheets collapse And over long timescales (decades to centuries) Some critics later compressed that into “he predicted metres soon”, and then it got shortened again into “2 metres in 10 years”—which is not what he said. 2. 🧩 Blending with other exaggerated or wrong claims Online posts often mix together different claims, for example: “20 feet (≈6 metres)” long-term possibilities General warnings about future flooding Local places like Sydney or New York added in later Over time, these get stitched into a fake quote that sounds specific and outrageous. 3. 📱 Social media meme evolution Fact-checkers have looked at similar Sydney-specific claims and found: Memes often use photos of Sydney Harbour to “prove” no change These ignore tides and proper measurement Long-term data actually shows rising sea levels, not flat or falling Once those memes circulate, people attach a made-up quote to them (like the Gore one) to give them credibility. 4. 📊 Real data contradicts the narrative Sea levels have risen 15–25 cm since 1901 globally Sydney tide gauges show a clear upward trend, not just 2 mm total So the “only 2 mm” part is also misleading—it cherry-picks or misunderstands data. 🧠 What’s really going on here This claim is basically a game of telephone: Real science: “multi-metre rise possible over long timeframes” Simplified: “metres of rise could happen” Distorted: “metres soon” Meme version: “2 metres in 10 years in Sydney” By the end, it sounds like a bold failed prediction—but it was never actually said. ⚖️ Bottom line ❌ No evidence Gore made that 10-year, 2-metre prediction ❌ The Sydney Harbour example is added later, not original ⚠️ The claim is a fabricated quote built from distortions ✅ Actual measurements show gradual, real sea level ris

Here's the Moon in 1969. I have a set of slides given to me by a photo lab for professional photographers in Sydney CBD. I've kept them all this time and only scanned them in Sep 2024. I can post more If you want to see them, there's 19 all up, different scenes.

And for all the Trump and Netanyahu fanbois... Tell me again what "the master of the deal" has done for America? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-08/donald-trump-cedes-ground-to-iran-before-negotiations-even-begin/106541368 After being fooled into this war by a war criminal, Trump has: - caused devastation to life and infrastructure in Iran - spent billions of US taxpayers money on a war they didn't want or need - depleted the US armory - caused mayhem around the middle east - raised prices around the world due to fuel and transportation costs, along with associated shrinking of tourism etc - trashed America's reputation even more - put money back in Putin's coffers enabling him to continue the Ukraine invasion. And in return for all this pain, felt worldwide, what has he accomplished? Nothing. If anything, the Iranian regime will come out of this with more than they started with. Not only will sanctions be removed, they will be making money, Mafia-style, from any ship using the Strait of Hormuz. No regime change. No democracy. No stopping of their nuclear program. And you think this pathetic creature is doing right for the US? Don't make me laugh.

When the war finished they had a lot of Japanese held in pow type camps awaiting repatriation back to Japan. In a lot of them they didn't have allied soldiers guarding them, they were doing it themselves. One night my dad and his mate were returning back to camp from a local watering hole and walked past one of the camps. All hell broke loose, the sentry called the alarm and the camp commandant roused the whole camp of Japanese out of bed to form up on the parade ground. He got my dad and his mate who were full as a boot to inspect the troops. The old man said it was one of the craziest experiences he had over there, two private ranked Australians with the wobbly boot on walking up and down the Japanese ranks inspecting them. He told me they hammed it up a bit and did a fairly dodgy officer impersonation to give the commandant a bit of face.

It's been hanging over him for years. Kerry Stokes tried to assist him and I don't blame Kerry for that. We Train soldiers to Be effective killing Machines and expect them to still Be NORMAL. I see that as a quandary. What HE did was awful but WAR is not a Normal situation, A lot of returned Soldiers are Ruined by what they have seen and done. It used to be called Shellshock. The People who start the Wars are the REAL criminals. Nev

For sure that is what he says. But the easily found facts do not show any signs of USA improving the lives of ordinary people. However, the (minority) wealthiest are doing just fine, and Trumpy's family are achieving great wealth. So I choose to see him as a liar, motivated solely by self interest. No, I have neither rage nor agression. Only disappointment. Ours is a similar path to that which has led USA to it's present situation. One which Trump seems to be accelerating. We should take that as a warning. But then along came synthetics (oil based) and we fell off the sheep's back. Then failed to monetise our mining industry, which only benefits a minority. I hold both major political parties for this, as do a lot of USAnians for their situation. Thank you. I am not trying to convince you. I am only trying to explain why I feel the way I do, about current politics. My only proviso is that I believe if someone important tells lies or bullies others, it should be called out. Anyone, whatever race, gender, political party. It seems to me that Trump consistently makes himself an easy target, and I see no proof of him "Making America Great".

The problem with Trump is that beyond quoting a slogan, he has no vision that he can articulate as to how to achieve what he allegedly wants for the country. On the other hand, it's very clear what he wants for himself - power, respect or fear (doesn't matter which), and money. His personality is that of a liar and cheat, and the energy and drive he has is all aimed at his own political survival and personal enrichment. As for Australia, if we had an outstanding and far-sighted politician who had a clear vision for improving the country and making it more self-sufficient that made sense to the voting population, he/she would likely be given a chance to implement their agenda.

Well all I see is people losing their minds over a guy who only wants for his country to be the best. How you get there of course is the methods you use. Why dont you point all your agression and comments and pontifications to the dickheads who lead our country down into the shi#t chute we are heading into. We are a Island..we dont have nutjobs on any of our borders than can just walk in. We have done our best over the past 30 plus years ( thanks to keatings globalization push) to defang and deindustrialize to a point now where we are a joke. We used to be self sufficient in power and oil and manufacturing pretty much anything we wanted. Exported all around the world and had a balance of trade far in excess of the situation we have in this country currently. Now we are a weak pissy shadow of our former selves. Both political parties are responsible for this terrible decline the problem is they are still in that mindset. We need someone to come in and reshape us. I am not saying thats Trump but we need someone with a big set of khunas or boobies..I dont care who it is just someone with the conviction that Trump seems to have. Not his runaway mouth but his drive and vision for a better country. If that makes me a racist or a woke hater in your eyes then so be it.Thats your opinion !...I have a thick skin and sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. Oh and I am aloowed to still have a opinion dont I...I mean if I offend you with what I have said..then good...its not illegal to offend anyone...yet. well the current govt seems to want to try to even take that away from us. What ever happened to common sense and critical thinking to run your country. We have the resources here to be one of the wealthies countrys in the world and give the population here a lifestyle that could rival anywhere in the world. Wether you are born here or immigrated here I dont care. If you have immigrated here dont bring your shit here or try to convert what we are or the way we want to live. We are Australians..well we used to be...sometimes I really wonder who or what we will become in the future as I can not currently see any path forward to a better country under our current and ever former numbskulls Now you have a opinion in my view and I ont or probably wont be offended by whatyou say. I will listen and make up my own mind of what I keep on board what you say or discard it into the rubbish bin of ideas..be they sane or insane

Starter motor for wills Merlin powered bike

Pure right wing American, MAGA-land, unadulterated BS. This part is especially untrue - "The contradiction being that Europe’s energy systems, industrial bases, and geopolitical sermons 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭." Europes energy systems don't ALL depend on America. They get energy from Russia, from Norway, Azerbaijan, and Algeria for pipeline natural gas. They ship in millions of tonnes of Australian canola and turn it into transportation fuel. They ship in Uranium for nuclear power plants from Canada, Kazhakstan and Australia. They have huge hydro, windpower and solar energy projects. They have diversified their energy suppliers since the start of the Ukraine War. And at the end of the day, European consumers of energy use around one-quarter of the average American energy user. They drive fuel-efficient vehicles and EV's, not gigantic V8 fuel guzzling urban assault vehicles, and even their homes only use modest levels of energy because they're well insulated. It is pure American propaganda. The Europeans are primarily seeking a ceasefire, as they see massive global upheaval, a huge global recession, high interest rates, and vastly increased levels of unemployment, if this idiocy of Trump and his sycophants is left unchecked.

Remember.... Never interrupt your enemy whilst they are shooting themselves in the foot. (Or summat like that)

Jeezus Jerry, I'm almost afraid to say anything now in case it brings forth another 50,000 words of reply! 😄 Look. If you want to ignore the almost daily reports of civilian killings, starvation, refusing to allow food and medical delivery by truck or ship, lack of any legal consequence for extrajudicial killings, targeting of noncombatants, etc - that's up to you. And no one is trying to hold Israel to any higher standard than anyone else. Is Hamas a terrorist organisation that should be disarmed? Of course it is. Do you keep killing a country's civilians until that terrorist organisation is disarmed? No you bloody don't. And as for throwing around the anti-semitic label at anyone who dares to speak out against Israel's invasions - Lebanon too now, as well as Iran - that's just lazy. I'm totally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Trump's invasions of Venezuela and Iran, Hamas's October 7th invasion of Israel, and anyone else who takes uninvited military action in a country that isn't theirs. But because I'm also against Netanyahu's invasions of Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, I'm somehow anti semitic?

He should have stuck with drinking and philandering. Now he's God's Minister for War.

Be careful underestimating Hegseth. It's easy to bring up things like excessive drinking, adultery and the like, but that is not what he is like now. At some stage after that sort of behaviour, Hegseth found God. He joined a fundamentalist Christian Evangelical church and changed his ways. Was that a good result? No. The church he joined is the worst kind of fundamentalist. White supremist; all other religions are the Devil's creation. If you compared Hesgeth with the Ayotollah, you would find that the only dissimilarity was the god they beleived was the only one. In all other ways they are exactly the same. So for Hegseth, what he is doing to Iran is not to stop nuclear proliferation, but it is the fundamentalist Christian Evangelical version of a jihad.

I am hoping the Facebook friend invitations from Desi Freeman will now stop.

The news about the U.S. bases damage, is largely correct. The U.S. military themselves have admitted damage has been incurred at 13 U.S. bases in the Middle East, with DoW damage estimations of around US$800M. There are other reports saying the number of bases seriously damaged is actually 17, and the total repair bill for all the Iranian damage is likely to exceed US$3B - and more importantly, take years to rebuild, simply because of the complexity of the equipment in the bases, and the requirement for a lot of electronic replacements, that are still in short supply from COVID-era restrictions. Even many car manufacturers are taking shortcuts in vehicle manufacturing, and leaving out optional equipment that is electronics-heavy, due to the ongoing chip shortage. What our dopey Tangerine Toddler doesn't understand, is that Taiwan may now even make overtures to China to form an alliance, to prevent a Taiwan-China war. This is because Taiwan is starting to realise that their major ally is no longer a reliable ally - and is likely incapable of protecting/supporting Taiwan in the event of a Chinese aggressive military move on them. If that alliance happens, China will then control the majority of the worlds cutting-edge chip manufacturing, and give Trump and his sycophants another dose of heartburn, because America still hasn't got any local chip manufacturing sorted yet. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cddq7j48p35o https://defencesecurityasia.com/en/us-bases-uninhabitable-iran-missile-strikes-centcom-force-posture-2026-war/

That's a pretty high ranking.

True. But Oscar was NOT armless, was he! But he didn't have a leg to stand on.

But, it is OK to bag, but I also prefer to offer some solutions. This has previously been discussed on these forums. but a couple from memory: Ban political donations more than a de minimis amount from one controlling person/group (to make it hard to create 100 cmpanies and each of them contribute a seaparate donation to the limit). Maybe restrict it to living people rather than corporations. I would personally advocate a ban on lobbying groups and companies. If you have something to say to the government, it can be done through a public forum where everyone gets to hear it and scrutinise it. And contribute to it. If not point 2, ban parliamentarians from lobbying or representing/being emeployed by firms in any official or real capacity that involves communication - directly or indirectly - with the government. Period. No cooling off periods, etc. Aussie media regulator, ACMA, being given real teeth over both mainstream and social media, which must have independence, legally trained/accomplished people adjudicating, where they can impose real consequences/punishment for intentionally misleading the public. Those impacted can appeal through the court systems if they want. Of course, paid advertorials that are clearly labelled as such would be exempt, however, if the publisher reasonably had facts that rebuke such advertorials, then they have to state this prominently either before or after ther advertorial. A new "offence" is intrroduced of high public misconduct (there is a public misconduct charge which is applying a damp wetted to the wrist very softly). For this, the bar should be recklessness in its criminal definition( foresaw the consequences that are likely to happen, didn't want them to happen, but went ahead with the action anyway) or intention. In other words simple incompetence or even negligence do not count. So, unless the polly clearly states the likely outcome of their policy, and it results in an absurd and large cost to Australians and the benefit promised doesn't materialise, they can be held liable, with the punishment being they and their controilling interests (so, for example, not hiding assets with a partner or company or whatever) can be held finalcially responsible (i.e. having to pay what they can back). The above offence would automatically include acting on prohibited lobbying. I am sure I could think of many more things, but I bet with the above, there would be far more transparent and hopefully logical and rational decisions made in the best interests of the country as a whole.

He's the ultimate snake oil salesman. Back in the early 1900s, travelling salesmen would sell "miracle cures" to naive country folk. Said remedies did absolutely nothing, of course, except leave the victim poorer and still sick. Trump is exactly the same. A liar and braggart. Promised to "drain the swamp" when in fact he's the biggest alligator ever to inhabit any level of government. Promised to "make America great again" and has only made it worse. Promised to make ordinary people's lives better and has only raised prices, lowered healthcare, and made billionaires richer. Promised to start no wars and has invaded multiple countries. A rapist, fraudulent, morally (and multiple financially) bankrupt huckster who has fooled the religious into believing he's god's choice. Someone totally devoid of tact, empathy, diplomacy or character. In fact, if you were to say "Apart from death row inmates, who is the public figure with the least Presidential qualities?", the answer would be "Donald Trump".

Gina and her old man are/were just greed merchants of the highest order. Lang Hancock was a money-grubbing grub who used smart lawyer/accountants to initially write up an iron ore royalty agreement whereby he got 2.5% of all monies earned from a number of iron ore leases that he'd pegged - in perpetuity. The second thing he did was set up a major trust to avoid paying any tax on that massive amount of money. So Rio Tinto pays this family multiple tens of millions each year for no effort whatsoever on their part, and they pay zero tax on it - until the Hancock Trust is dismantled. That's why Gina spent hundreds of millions on lawyers and court cases to stop her children from dismantling the Handcock Trust. She succeeded. She paid her children a few tens of millions to keep them from grabbing more of the billions in the Trust. Gina married an American tax evasion expert, one Frank Rinehart, who narrowly avoided going to jail for tax fraud. He wound up with a suspended jail sentence. He was a crook who taught Gina all about tax evasion and how to manipulate laws to keep winning unfair gains. Frank Rinehart was a total fraud, he lived a double life with another woman while he was married to Gina. Gina believes she's the only one entitled to W.A.'s iron ore wealth, as her family pegged the first iron ore leases - and that everyone in Australia should genuflect to the Hancock dynasty and thank them eternally for the huge efforts the Hancocks have made to build up Australia. The truth is, they're nothing more than 20th and 21st century robber barons. https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-man-who-came-between-gina-and-her-father-20120622-20tll.html

The expression on Takaichi’s face and her uncomfortable shifting in her seat shows just how Trump’s unexpected and ignorant jibe landed. She was visibly shocked. He hasn’t got a clue of course. Then Eric Trump’s response on X; “One of the great responses to a reporter in history!” A true chip off the old block. The sooner they are all gone, the better.

My cup runneth over! It began to rain last night as I went to bed, and has continued to do so throughout the night and into the morning. It has not ben the flooding type of rain, just a steady fall which allows the water to soak in. Now all that is needed is for the seeds laying in the soil to sprout for winter feed.

If you are referring to the whole world, well, they are building more. Globally, pumped hydro has ~200 GW of installed capacity That represents the vast majority (over 90%) of long-duration energy storage Dozens of new projects are still being built each year So while individual schemes are large and relatively few compared to, say, solar farms, they are widespread and globally significant. 📍 Where are they? 🇨🇳 China (world leader) Largest total capacity (~50+ GW) Massive new projects like Fengning (one of the world’s biggest) Hundreds more under construction 👉 China uses pumped hydro heavily to stabilise its huge wind and solar buildout. 🇯🇵 Japan ~20+ GW installed One of the earliest adopters Built to balance nuclear and now renewables 🇺🇸 United States ~16–17 GW installed Famous example: Bath County (often called the “world’s largest battery”) 🇪🇺 Europe (widely distributed) Major countries: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain Example: Germany has multiple plants used for grid balancing Scotland hosts many of the UK’s biggest schemes 🇦🇺 Australia Existing: Shoalhaven scheme (NSW) Tasmanian hydro system Major new build: Snowy 2.0 (huge expansion project) 🌎 Other notable regions South America – Brazil and Chile expanding capacity India – growing fast to support solar Africa – early-stage development (e.g., South Africa) 👍 Are they successful? Short answer: Yes—very successful, but with caveats ✅ Strengths 1. Proven and reliable Technology has been used for 50+ years Extremely well understood and dependable 2. Grid stabilisation Acts like a giant battery: Stores excess power Releases it when needed 3. Long lifespan Often lasts 50–100 years (much longer than batteries) 4. Scale Can store huge amounts of energy (hours to days) ⚠️ Limitations 1. Geography matters Needs suitable elevation and water Not every location works economically 2. High upfront cost Big civil engineering projects (tunnels, dams) 3. Long build times Projects like Snowy 2.0 take years and can face delays 4. Environmental concerns Land use, water impacts, and community opposition 🤔 Big-picture takeaway Pumped hydro is not new or experimental—it’s the backbone of global energy storage. It’s especially valuable as countries add more wind and solar. While batteries are growing fast, pumped hydro still dominates for large-scale, long-duration storage. 🌍 How much is being built? Around 100+ GW of pumped hydro is already under construction globally The total development pipeline is enormous (~600 GW) Annual additions are rising and could double to ~16.5 GW per year by 2030 👉 That’s not a niche build-out—that’s a major global infrastructure push. 📍 Where is the construction happening? 🇨🇳 China (dominates the boom) By far the biggest builder 200+ GW under construction alone Adding multiple large plants every year 👉 China is essentially treating pumped hydro as core grid infrastructure for renewables. 🇮🇳 India & Asia-Pacific Rapid expansion to support solar growth New multi-GW projects announced (e.g. Maharashtra schemes) Strong growth across Asia-Pacific generally 🇪🇺 Europe Lots of medium-sized projects and upgrades Example: New plant in Norway (Illvatn) under construction Hybrid wind + pumped hydro projects (e.g. Crete) 👉 Europe is modernising older hydro + adding storage rather than building mega-dams. 🇺🇸 United States Several projects in development: Example: Seminoe (900 MW) Many more proposed—potential to more than double capacity 🇦🇺 Australia (your backyard) Active pipeline: Kidston (QLD) nearing completion Snowy 2.0 under construction Multiple NSW & QLD proposals ⚠️ But: Some projects have been delayed or cancelled due to cost blowouts or geology issues (e.g. Pioneer-Burdekin) 🌎 Other regions Spain: dozens of projects progressing (25 advancing in 2025 alone) Africa: early but accelerating growth South America: Chile & Brazil expanding 📈 Why the sudden surge? This is the key shift: 👉 Wind and solar are now cheap—but intermittent 👉 Grids need long-duration storage (hours to days) Pumped hydro is: Proven Long-lasting (50–100 years) Scalable to huge sizes That’s why it’s having what’s been described as a “renaissance” in energy systems Reality check (it’s not all smooth) Even though many are being built: ✔ What’s going well Strong government backing Clear role in renewable grids Massive scale possible ✖ What’s slowing things down Long build times (often 7–10 years) Cost overruns (common in big civil projects) Environmental approvals Site-specific risks (geology can kill projects)

I think that's called having a nonsensical worldview then building fairy castle assumptions to support it.

I think they should be banned & all political advertising taken down on election day. I was in NZ for a wedding last month & there were differing opinions of Jacinda Adern. She won a landslide victory in her second term but had become a victim of the very left and resigned early. She handled the Christchurch massacre and Covid very well and became well known around the world. She was a great leader when NZ needed one. The current PM is not a leader at all & the NZ economy is not doing well. Of course it is all Jacindas fault.

Here's something really random. My son works from home 3 days a week and goes to the office on the other two. When he works in the office, he usually gets home between 7.15 and 7.30 pm. The dog starts barking at the door from 7.15, and yaps till Andrew walks through the door. Andrew is currently on 10 days holiday in Thailand with a couple of mates. The dog still barks at the door from 7.15 till we reprimand him.

The Greens never knew about the tailings dam at Mary Kathleen Uranium until I told them. That dam was on bare ground and was covered with a yellow foam, leaching into the ground and exposed to the atmosphere. The Qld State govt minister told the Greens it was monitored. Nothing happened after that, that I know of. I felt disappointed the Greens didn't fight to get it cleaned up. I walked in it as part of my job to fetch a pump, had gum boots on of course. The foreman stayed well back on the bank.

Ahh.. but he is the master of the art of the deal... In his own mind

Couldn't disagree more, Nev. It takes a special kind of skill to consistently and thoroughly screw up a country. Didn't someone recently say that:- "If, hypothetically, D J Trump was a Russian operative sent to destroy USA, is there anything he would do differently? I think not."

Yeah - I have to restart drinking... 😉

Jerry, I agree with you most of the time, but it really looks like you have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to Israel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_journalists_in_the_Gaza_war If they killed almost 300 journalists "by accident" then they must be the most inept military ever. So which is it?

I have decided it is time to get back into flying. Trundling off to Dunkeswell to do my SEP renewal. Although this post should probably go onto the mother site, it was a random thought that popped up inot my head. Will try and book it for Thursday this week; if not, it will be Tuesday following week.

I believe it's captioned Duck Donald. Nev

They don't all Have 37 Billion to buy their way into everything. She will replace them with robots without batting an eye lid. ALL she cares about is Making more Money for Herself. No one want's that kind of thing to be Happening within their Government. It's NOT good for the Country. Gina's on record saying Paying a fine is ok for ALL crimes and Workers are worth 2 Dollars a day. She's No Angel. Nev

Can you see what's wrong with our electoral system? One Nation and independents got well over 1/4 of the primary vote, perhaps a 1/3, and because there was no seats won except for one independent, all those votes end up with zero value. The only votes that have value are the ones that help to win seats. The votes that don't win seats just remain as bits of paper filled out by voters who get ignored for the next four years. This is one of the reasons I stopped voting. Some votes have significant value, while other votes have no value at all. For a system that has mandatory voting, all votes should have value, and proportionate representation in the running of the State, or Nation So the jurassic idea of "winning seats" needs to be changed to: "A party is to get as many votes as it can, and then, a party's voters will get a real say in Parliament". In other words, abolish "seats", and have proportionate representation in Parliament instead. That will mean every vote will have value every election. No voter will be left behind.

I have two friends who are a vigorous 90 and will be having lunch on Monday with someone who just turned 96. There is hope for all of us.