As the pond winds down for the year, it's time to reflect on strange moments, and not the least is the vanishing of that tasty treat, the Oreo, at one a regular feature of the lizard Oz on a Monday ...
The pond's short term memory is vanishingly small, but there it was, confirmation that the Oreo was last sighted way back in October ...
True to form, it was a Monday, it were, and since then, silence.
What happened? Was she Elonned by the reptiles, or did she lose heart, or was there some exigency that caused the departure, or at least the long, almost unendurable silence?
The pond will likely never know, but that's the reason the pond has been stuck with minor sociology student and flood waters in quarries man, the Kirribilli Caterist, on a Monday ... and the pond has heard his song so many times, it's just another reason why Sydney on a Monday always feels cloudy and dreary... (teardrops on the dance floor remind me baby of you) ...
Still wanting to nuke the country and still fudging the figures?
What a blessed relief it will be not to have put up with the Caterist droning for the short time left in the year.
What joy to say farewell to the floodwaters in quarries man, and all the pond will note in his passing is that climate science zealotry, or the notion of climate science as a religion seems to have changed to take on an Incel tone of sexual abstinence ... "climate science purity"...
When you think about the wording for a nanosecond, the monstrous stupidity of the Caterist and his loose way with words assails the nostrils and the senses.
Does he ever scribble about "gravity purity", or "round earth purity", or "theory of evolution purity"?
Perhaps better not answer that and instead survey the scene to see what else was around in a propaganda sheet at one with the Liberal party in not being part of the modern world...
Sorry Mark, the pond is awake up to that game ... the reptiles are only offering you up as a sock puppet so later in the week some reptile, perhaps Dame Slap, can return to the game and offer more FUD and fear mongering ...
And sorry Colin, if you're going to blame celebrities and popular culture, you should remember that it was the mango Mussolini that bunged on the meal, and sold a motza of digital cards to gullible punters, and we owe his presence on the stage to Faux Noise and the rest of the far right ratbags ...
And wasn't simplistic Simon a holdover from the 16th December, suggesting a certain holyday slackness at the lizard Oz?
And so for the last time this year, the pond came to Major Mitchell ... and waddya kno, it was just like the Caterist ... only more verbose, in a Major way ...
What was that heading at the top of the lizard Oz?
And so we have the dinosaur Major, an aged hack, bringing into disrepute one of the pond's favourite parrots, and endlessly cackling on about the ABC, as Major Mitchells are wont to do ...
Yes, there will always be a day in the reptile firmament where fossil fuels will lead the way ... and as for the planet? Ah, for that, you must head off to the Graudian for the good news ...
The pond could immediately hear the Caterist and the Major bellowing in its ear about modelling and "climate science purity" ... and so, to avoid idle chatter about "reptile black hole purity", the pond turned with relief, to the immortal Rowe for other recent news, with soccer such an arcane mystery to the pond, who knew it could provoke rioting? Next thing you know, they'll be rioting about cricket lasting two days, while the pond will be out rioting because it sometimes runs for five ...
When you are looking at war reporting, the lack of coverage of one of the fronts indicates the war is probably not going well there. So it is with the war on renewables. Remember when South Australia was a cautionary tale? It's gone very, very quiet of late.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/simonahac/status/1603941686165458944
If you like to go to the source
https://opennem.org.au/energy/sa1/?range=7d&interval=30m
The thing with the reptile mind is that there is no history, no trend, everything is just fixed in a particular moment in time. If a problem is not resolved instantly it can never be resolved and we have to keep everything exactly the same for ever and ever, amen.
And isn't it fascinating that now Texas is one of the "good guys": "Californians pay almost twice as much per unit of electricity than gas-guzzling Texans." So easy to forget just a little bit of recent history:
Delete"The Texas grid failure impacted millions who had no electricity and heating in sub-zero temperatures for days. It has not only caused scores of deaths and injuries, but also economic havoc in the US State."
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/03/06/texas-grid-failure-electricity-obeys-laws-of-physics-not-the-market/#:~
That was way back in, oh, February 2021. Texas, of course, is not connected to the otherwise US-wide grid - 'lone-star States' don't do that kind of thing.
South Australia as a "cautionary tale":
DeleteSA goes seven days straight on green power
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/sa-goes-seven-days-straight-on-green-power/ar-AA15raRZ
Oops - gas lobby group accidentally publishes their strategy to push for acceptance of their product as "green" - https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/this-could-be-existential-behind-gas-desperate-global-game-plan-20221213-p5c60p.html
ReplyDeleteThat won't get a run in the Murdoch media though, so nobody will notice.
DeleteMore than a whiff of panic here Anony & GB. No waiting for an appropriate opportunity to slip this into the narrative, just a bunch of propaganda pieces each day. The AFR has been doing this for a while, I think there were five advertorials by fossil fuel execs dressed up as opinion pieces on one day.
DeleteHopefully, this will be like the Ardennes Offensive, one desperate last throw of the dice.
Who is the Editor of AFR is it a Michael Stutchbury. He is a regular participant on the ABC insiders.
ReplyDelete‘Senior’ energy market researcher - ah, yes, to be cited by the Major, one has to be ‘Senior’, or superior in some other obscure way. Anyway, Mark Samter might know something about writing investment advice on energy companies (will return to that) but he has little acquaintance with the writings of Karl Marx.
ReplyDeleteMarx had little to say about mineral resources, because, at the times he wrote, his interest in the main source of energy, coal, focussed on the labour required to dig it out, process and deliver it. We might conveniently identify the first modern oil well as the one drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859, and it was several years after that that such oil started to become a significant source of energy.
Marx did write on ‘rent’ of land, and, again, at the period of his experience, title to land often included title to minerals directly under it. Lest that be considered ancient lore - within living memory, governments of New South Wales passed a lot of legislation to detach mineral rights from land tenure in that state. Most of the realisable ‘rent’ in mineral resources is created by governments, surveying those resources, and establishing provinces, to the apparent limits of each field of one or other resource, so that individual corporations can be given exclusive rights to the entire known province, without that tedious process of negotiating with many holders of surface land tenure.
Samter, like so many other minions of mineral corporations, makes no distinction between Marxism and socialism. I suspect those who subscribe to ‘MST Marquee’ - and you have to subscribe to gather any information from them - similarly will not differentiate; screaming ‘Marxism’ is as easy as any transient meme, and sufficient to trigger those who share the idea of divine right of the elect to the source of ‘rent’ identified by, and created by, government.
One can glean from the ‘MST Marquee’ site that one of the companies which Samter purports to analyse is AGL. The ‘Wiki’ is handy for this summary of AGL
‘AGL is responsible for more than double the carbon emissions of Australia's second-biggest electricity generator, and more than BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore, and Qantas combined. AGL's coal-burning power stations are responsible for eight per cent of Australia's total national emissions.’
Samter has been the occasional source of cryptic observations on energy issues in Limited News and AFR (well, no point in giving away information that people will otherwise pay you for). His contribution to recent turmoil in AGL includes -
‘"Electricity markets are close to imploding, with FY23 (Financial Year 2023) futures at more than A$240 megawatts per hour in NSW," MST Marquee analyst Mark Samter told The Australian.’
I would offer a prize for someone who can tell me the significance of that to the Cannon-Brookes investments - but cannot think of an appropriate one (I did not bid for any of the Trump NFTs because I could not nominate the one of him in cossie as a roughneck on a rig).
You always seem to be able to find just the right words and the relevant info, Chad, thanks.
DeleteI've got to say that seeing the Maj and Caterist in this sort or pearl clutching mood actually cheers me up. When they start making listicles of dreadful risks I find myself thinking "this sounds hopeful, how can I push this along?" It also seems I am not alone.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2022/12/17/what-the-prime-minister-did-next
"Wittingly or unwittingly, the opposition was also sending the message to voters who deserted them for the Greens or the teal independents that the Labor government’s intervention would hasten the demise of coal and gas – just what these voters want. Clearly the Liberals haven’t yet got a clue how to win them back. Albanese and Energy Minister Chris Bowen stressed all week that their plans also involved a quicker transition to more dispatchable renewable energy, which can be stored for use as needed."
"Unlike Dutton, Albanese has not missed the significant shift in community sentiment away from the status quo on energy: prioritising private vested interests, often at the cost of billions of taxpayers’ dollars, over service delivery. While this is most acutely felt at the moment in the energy markets, it is true across the board from aged care to employment services, disability and the like."
"Clearly the Liberals haven’t yet got a clue ..." Yep, can't disagree with that, Bef. It's just very annoying to see how long it took a significant number of Aussie voters to cotton on to that.
ReplyDeleteI did tell you, didn't I:
ReplyDeleteVictoria’s Gippsland coast to become Australia’s first offshore windfarm zone
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/19/victorias-gippsland-coast-to-become-australias-first-offshore-windfarm-zone
And they must have their head somewhere other than studying the latest news out of SA
ReplyDeleteOh - the Oreo can be sighted in 'Sky News'. I do not keep records as Polonius does for the ABC, but in my dipping into 'YouTube' she does seem to appear once or twice a week. Perhaps more frequently now that they need to fill in the time previously take up by 'Gleeso' and Chrismith as they nominated members of ALP administrations who should resign immediately for what G 'n' C saw as treasonous corruption on a scale never before seen in this country.
ReplyDeleteThe Oreo is a bit player, participating in the circular affirmations that are offered as interviews on Sky News. The standard form is that Peta, or Rita, or Rowan talk for several minutes, repeating the mantra of what they think Rupert wants them to say, then turn to the 'guest', thank them for their time, tell us what an outstanding public intellect the guest is, and invite them to comment. The guest, almost invariably, says to the presenter that 'That's exactly right', and may add that they have been saying that very thing for years. Presenter then thanks them again for their time (surely they don't volunteer for this kind of appearance?) and shunts them off.
Apart from the Oreo, Ms Ton-yee-nee might also be sighted in this way, along with stayers such as Bronwyn Bishop, the Caravanaman - oh, a wealth of celebrities, too tedious to mention.
I mention sighting of the Oreo in the spirit of public announcement, as Dorothy has hinted at some concern for her welfare.
All of this going on night after night after night and I (thankfully) wot not of any of it. As to Oreo's "welfare", I think DP was just commenting on her sudden and complete absence from that centre of the known universe called 'The Australian'.
DeleteThanks Chadders for, like GB, the pond knew nought of wot of any of it, and it's a relief to discover that the Oreo lives on in News Corp, but as GB notes, it makes her banishment from the lizard Oz all the more mysterious. She might be a gadfly on Sky after dark, but what of her place in the holy firmament of the lizard Oz? Granted Sky News is, with its ratings, doing right by the world, and keeping her out of the way, but was she a pet of the old reptile regime, and has now been banished, did she develop writer's block, or did even the reptiles tire of her repetitive stupidity? Questions, still questions, and even though the odd sighting might prove the existence of Bigfoot, why no Bigfoot in the lizard Oz?
Delete