18.07.19.  There are fears Iran has seized another ship after a small oil tanker from the United Arab Emirates travelling through the Strait of Hormuz turned off its tracker three days ago. Iranian state media quoted its Foreign Ministry yesterday as saying it had helped a foreign oil tanker with a malfunction, but the report didn’t explain further. More

18.07.19.  Oh yes! Malcolm Turnbull was going huff and puff the house of electricity supply into giving the consumer a fair go. Each in turn grovelled before the mighty sentinel of power pledging reform. And as the Waffler closed the door the executives were laying on the floor wetting themselves with laughter. Their public response—a price rise!

A new rule has just come into play and that too is imaginary price cutting as experts troll the machinations of sleight-of-hand with the invisible commodity that blows in the wind—sometimes—costly renewables—carpetbagger suppliers—greenhouse taxes, etc. But the net result is always up—the consumer!
In a sign of rising pressure on power generation, the Federal Government’s chief energy advisor is urging rule changes to allow large commercial and industrial users to easily reduce their demand in peak periods and sell it back into the grid. More

18.07.19 There should never be a question that responsible free speech should never be in question. “Responsible”, is that a word that should be used in a debate on free speech. Should the boy (sorry, or girl) be allowed to shout “wolf” or to deliberately lie, some would say not. It might be better to say free speech at any cost and those that abuse it causing damage to others be prosecuted after the event. Suppression of any view should not be tolerated in a modern free society, regardless of the political lean at the time. Walter E. Williams discusses issues associated with free speech in the US: More

18.07.19 It’s so sad when champions stuff up theirs and those around them lives with a need to be seen as cool. Australia seem full of people that do a good thing, become well known then stuff up by being really stupid. Example would include famous cricketers who cheat, top rugby players that eye gorge and boast about their sexual conquests on film and those well known sporty’s that want to remove Margaret Courts name from the Tennis center simply because she expresses a christian opinion. Some sports people want to mimic the Hollywood set and use their fame politically, sad. Mark Davis discusses an example that should be a lesson for all sports people. More

17.07.19.  Australia and indeed all other Western nations that allow their citizens who willingly left those countries to fight for IS will rue the day that in the name of compassion they allow their return. The following article by Jason Thomas in The Australian should be essential reading by all politicians here and abroad.
Yesterday on this page, Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses suggested we allow the return of Islamic State terrorists to Australia. This is misguided and would likely result in the transmission of their evil patterns of thought to impressionable and vulnerable young Australians. More

17.07.19.  Queenslanders should rightly be annoyed by their government that dithered for a decade making every excuse in the world to halt Adani from opening the Carmichael mine. Upon discovery that voters were vehemently against the Labor Government’s decision there was an immediate backflip and the go ahead was announced.
Considering the old adage that, “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” double trouble when two are scorned, a large degree of “bitchiness” appears to be in play? As this article may indicate—let’s get Adani?

On the other hand, there are new claims that Adani may have pushed CSIRO for a report.
The Queensland Government is prosecuting mining giant Adani for allegedly providing false and misleading information to the Environment Department over land clearing at the site of its proposed Carmichael mine. The ABC understands the charge under the Environmental Protection Act carries a fine that runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. More

17.07.19.  Years ago when driving through rural areas it was common to see strands of copper wire dangling from insulators on leaning cross-trees along the side of roads, railways and darting off across a paddock to nowhere—relics of the past. Few people bothered to collect it then, save a few cockies that used it to hold up the muffler on the old tractor. Not so today though! Copper is the new gold. Many a landlord has found their tenants have done a runner—and with them all the household wiring and copper water pipes ripped from walls and ceilings. The modern copper miners!
I once put a working TV out front of the house with a sign,”Free to a good home.” Within minutes a car stopped, a bloke ran out, cut the cord off and was gone before I could get out the door and heave a bloody brick at him—copper!
An increase in copper wire theft in the Northern Territory is leaving rural residents without phone or internet connections and unable to call for help in the event of an emergency. More

17.07.19.  2019 seems to be the year of great archaeological discoveries. A very large  prehistoric settlement has been discovered near Jerusalem by Israeli archaeologists which offers new insight into how civilizations developed around the end of the Stone Age. It was only yesterday that MM reported on an observatory of sorts used by Australian Aborigines that pre-dated Britain’s Stonehenge, although all that remained of what was believed to be a weather office was a few rocks and some charcoal. Experts say that the fires lilt to hunt out kangaroos and such got away during dreamtime and wiped out the weather station. However, scientists are baffled by three items found near the 9,000 year-old city near Jerusalem, (see image).
The 9,000-year-old metropolis — pre-dating both Britain’s Stonehenge and ancient Egypt’s pyramids — was uncovered during a survey before the construction of a new highway, is one of the biggest ever found, the Israel Antiquities Authority said on Tuesday. The team estimated a population between 2,000 to 3,000 people, which would parallel a city by modern standards. More