octave

There are plenty of options out there. My bills are extremely cheap and I am not a lawyer or economist. For a start for those in Victoria, there is this site https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au/ When we did this we were paid $250 just for uploading a bill which they compared to other retailers. As we already knew we were on a good deal anyway. We did this 2 years in a row so we scored $500 over 2 years. If people think that sounds unbelievable $250 Power Saving Bonus Program I think this scheme may have finished now but there are similar schemes running. In addition, I seem to get a $ 75-a-quarter credit on my electricity account from the Vic government. My electricity bill before applying these rebates is about $650 a year (all electric - no gas) By using the monitoring software from my retailer and also the app for my solar system I have been able to tweak my usage. It is not that I am continually monitoring my power system but early on I learnt how to use power more wisely. We run a dishwasher once a day however we used to put it on in the evening. Now we put it on around midday when it usually would be entirely powered by solar. Hot water only comes on in the afternoon and is likewise powered mostly by solar. It is not really rocket science and actually, I find it enjoyable. With effort comes reward.

GWPF (Global Warming Policy Foundation) is not necessarily well thought of in scientific circles. I have no interest in prosecuting this old argument again however I urge people to be thorough in accepting any source and preferably look at many sources. This is worth a read The Global Warming Policy Foundation

Pity he pardoned Jan 6 thugs many of whom are extremely violent. One of these criminals has already been killed in an altercation with a police officer.

There are a lot of tin foil hat conspiracy theories out there

Fair enough but why raid farms and factories rather than starting with those who are actually sponging off society?

I like the information smart meters provide. I can see in 30-minute increments what is happening. Here is a random day Yellow is solar and orange is power used or displayed as money in (solar) and money out (power I take from the grid)

Here is an interesting figure - About 8.3 million U.S. workers in 2022 were unauthorized immigrants, an increase from 7.4 million in 2019. The 2022 number is essentially the same as previous highs in 2008 and 2011. If all of these workers are deported US citizens will need to do this low-paid and often back-breaking work or wages and food prices have to go up substantially.

A bit late for you Peter but maybe this is helpful to others. We had a blocked external drain. When a tap was on water would bubble up from the drain and flow across the courtyard. We searched for a plumber who advertised after-hours service. This service had a $90 call-out fee on top of the fee for service. Two idiots turned up and confirmed that the drain was blocked (brilliant deduction) They quoted $750 but said it could be more depending on what they found. They also said that they had had a long day and they were tired so they said they could come back the next day (but still wanted to charge the emergency call out fee, which we refused to pay ) We said we would call them back the next day. We decided they were useless but did not know how to go about finding someone better. We eventually went through RACV trades. You organise it online. You detail the job needed and RACV puts it out to tender amongst their approved tradies. You then get a quote back. We got a quote for $550. Two super efficient tradies came out put a camera through the drain and then used a jet wash. They kept at it until the drains were squeaky clean. We paid after they left through RACV. The RACV guarantees the work. A couple of weeks ago my parents-in-law (in their 90s) had a fault with their rooftop solar. They did not know how to go about getting it fixed, so we organised it (We live in Vic and they live in SA) We organised a trade through the RAA (on their membership) and someone came out and fixed the problem for $200 which I think is pretty reasonable and again the RAA guarantees the work. We have decided that we will always use this method when we need a tradesperson. I would assume that NRMA would offer a similar service.

Colombia has taken back immigrants in the past without all the controversy. Colombia has accepted deportation flights from the US in the past. In 2024, 124 planes carrying deported migrants from the US landed in the country. But President Petro appeared to object to the return of deportees on military rather than civilian flights - and to the way the migrants may be treated on those military flights. Trump and some of his followers are only happy when Trump as bully. You might say who cares? We live in a world where China is challenging the US for power and influence. The US being world bully only serves to drive countries towards China. For Trump respectful negotiation is of the table. His brand is being obnoxious. If you believe that Trump achieved a great coup by returning these immigrants then surely you should have even more praise for the previous administration who returned 124 planes in 2024.

PM don't you think he is challenging to like? Inarticulate Narcissistic Tells gargantuan lies - They are eating the dawgs in Springfield, and your child goes to school and comes home with a sex change operation. Appointing a vaccine-denier nutjob to lead the health department Adjudicated sexual abuser Brags about grabbing women by the pussy Doesn't seek to negotiate in good faith but to bully. Thinks he has to have Greenland regardless of the Greenlanders or Dane thinks A grifter selling Donald J Trump bibles and watches and digital cards to his gullible followers. Sucks up to dictators Wants to turn back women's reproductive rights I could go on and on. I don't many good character traits there at all

I think that Trumpism seeks to present every issue as being the good people against the bad people and has a quick simple and often brutal solution. I found this short article to be quite interesting. Immigrant Farmworkers and America's Food Production: 5 Things to Know

Not according to the farmers that employ them on I imagine pretty low wages Farmers Can't Find Enough Workers to Harvest Crops—and Fruits and Vegetables Are Literally Rotting in Fields I am not necessarily against any country enforcing its immigration laws as long as it is done humanely and sensibly. The veteran who was briefly detained was detained purely because of his ethnicity.

With mixed results. Trump’s Immigration Threats Are Already Wrecking the Food Industry ICE Detains US Military Veteran Without Warrant Trump hits Colombia with tariffs, sanctions after it refuses deportation flights I have no problem with the law being enforced however there seems to be a contradiction between "lazy illegal immigrants sponging off the system" and farmers complaining that their "workforce has suddenly disappeared". It seems to me that there has to be an intelligent way of allowing people in to do necessary work that US citizens won't do, even if temporarily.

This does not make it right. Throughout history countries and people have done all sorts of things which are less acceptable now. I take it you approve of these far-right organisations

As did Malcolm Fraser and civilized politicians around the world. Which resulted in thousands of deaths. Musk has enormous financial resources and therefore can exert tremendous influence. The people he is supporting are pretty hideous but perhaps you don't share that assessment. It is my understanding that most countries have laws restricting donations from foreign entities.

You can freeze frame video of any one of us and probably find that gesture. Can you supply a link that shows the whole movement that led to those freeze frames? The Musk thing is not a freeze frame we can see the whole gesture repeated twice. I do not know his meaning and it is not of great interest to me however neo-Nazis believe it was significant. Surely Musk should clarify that it wasn't a nod to the far right. The problem is that Musk IS a fan of the far right and seeks to interfere in other countries' politics. but perhaps you are OK with that.

I do not know what Musk's intentions were however fra right-wingers seem to believe it was significant. It is no secret that Musk is close with people on the extreme right such as AFD which is so far right that even La Pen won't work with them.

Probably for this reason https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/01/trump-jeffrey-epstein-tapes

Trump is either evil or exceedingly stupid.

Here is an interactive map of operating batteries and those under construction and planned. https://reneweconomy.com.au/big-battery-storage-map-of-australia/

And let's face it, he may not even see this term out. I am betting there is a plan afoot for Donald Junior to stand in 2028

Republican Floats Constitutional Amendment to Allow Trump a Third Term This seems a little Putinesque to me.

I don't actually pay more per KWh but my power retailer sources its power from renewables. Of course, there are times when there are not enough renewables available (although this gets less with time) but in this case, the company buys an equal amount of renewables when it is available, which I am assuming is more expensive at these times. My retailer charges 26 cents per kWh My assumption is I could get this cheaper if I did not care about the source. My retailer invests in renewable energy technology. In any case my bills are extremely low anyway due to rooftop solar so I am happy to support renewables.

Does a baby? To me killing is abhorrent. Certainly, justifications can be made but there has to be proportionality otherwise you may as well use a nuclear weapon and wipe them all out. Anyway, I don't want to get drawn in so I will leave it to you folks, let me know when you have found the solution.

Just my 2 cents worth, I don't particularly have strong feelings either way regarding closing or continuing this thread. I do however find these sorts of conversations trying. People start out by saying "I am not saying all Vulcans are like this but...." It can then morph into (on all sides) sweeping statements. These issues are immensely complicated and people tend to have passionate beliefs. This is one reason I periodically disappear without a trace from the forum. I doubt that anyone will change anyone else's passionately held position. I heard a harrowing recording of a young girl in that part of the world. She was on a phone desperately pleading for help. She screamed that her family had been killed. When help got to her she had also been killed. I won't reveal the ethnicity of this girl because this does not change the value of the pain and suffering. I will say this though, either this girl was too young to be a terrorist or to even understand the issues or too young to be able to have any input into the government of Israel or the actions of the IDF. If my wife walks home from the station at night it is not terroism she fears.