So why are we still in the self-destructive “renewables” obsession which is driving up power prices for no benefit at all to anyone except the subsidy seekers?
Forget Paris: 1,600 New Coal-fired Power Plants are Planned or Under Construction in 62 Countries
Here’s a small sample of how many coal plants there are in the world today.
The EU has 468 plants building 27 more for a total of 495
Turkey has 56 plants building 93 more total 149
South Africa has 79 building 24 more total 103
India has 589 building 446 more total 1036
Philippines has 19 building 60 more total 79
South Korea has 58 building 26 more total 84
Japan has 90 building 45 more total 135
AND CHINA has 2363 building 1171 total 3534
Here come our AUSTRALIAN politicians that are going to shut down our 6 remaining plants and save the planet!!
People, especially women, never fabricate stories of rape for their own purposes.
From the Washingtom Times:
Another Kavanaugh accuser admits to fabricating rape story
One of Justice Kavanaugh’s accusers admits to lying
One of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s accusers admitted this week that she made up her lurid tale of a backseat car rape, saying it “was a tactic” to try to derail the judge’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committeerevealed the fraud in a letter to the FBI and Justice Department Friday, asking them to prosecute Judy Munro-Leighton for lying to and obstructing Congress.
Mr. Grassley said Ms. Munro-Leighton is a left-wing activist who hijacked another “Jane Doe” anonymous report about a backseat rape and claimed it as her own story, calling it a “vicious assault.”
“I am Jane Doe from Oceanside CA — Kavanaugh raped me,” Ms. Munro-Leighton wrote in an Oct. 3 email claiming to have been a victim of the judge.
Mr. Grassley’s investigators tried to reach her for a month but were unsuccessful until this week, when they spoke to her by phone and she confessed that she was not the original Jane Doe, and “did that as a way to grab attention.”
She admitted to the false allegation, and said she has actually never met Justice Kavanaugh.
“I was angry, and I sent it out,” she told investigators.
“In short, during the committee’s time-sensitive investigation of allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, Ms. Munro-Leighton submitted a fabricated allegation, which diverted committee resources,” Mr. Grassley wrote. “When questioned by Committee investigators she admitted it was false, a ‘ploy,’ and a ‘tactic.’ She was opposed to Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation.”
President Trump seized on the report Saturday, calling her “a vicious accuser.”
“What about the others? Where are the Dems on this?” he demanded via Twitter.
Mr. Grassley has previously asked the FBI to probe Julie Swetnick and her lawyer, anti-Trump crusader Michael Avenatti, for lying to Congress and obstructing. Ms. Swetnick had originally claimed to have been the victim of gang rapes involving Justice Kavanaughduring high school parties, saying she saw him and a friend spike punch to leave girls unable to resist. She later changed her story to say she saw Justice Kavanaugh and his friend near a punch bowl, and could not identify them as having actually been part of any rape.
None of the witnesses she told NBC could corroborate her story were able to do so.
Indeed, NBC found one woman who despite a sworn statement backing up Ms. Swetnick, told the network Mr. Avenatti was twisting her words.
Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation process was delayed while the committee investigated a number of sexual assault and harassment claims, none of which have been corroborated by any public evidence to date.
He vehemently denied all of the claims.
He was confirmed, though only one Democrat joined with all but one Republican in backing him.
Here is a graph that tells you why our electricity prices have gone from being the cheapest in the developed world to amongst the most expensive. Yes it is the “unreliables”- solar and wind.
The 1970’s through to 2005 suddenly look like a golden age.
You may have seen this ad which Gillette produced.
It has polarising in its reception. On youtube down thumbs are about 2-3 times the number of up thumbs.
Gillette, along with many feminists, justifies the ad as being important to raise discussion about “toxic masculinity.”
What has happened is far different, with many men expressing a feeling that the ad is in fact blaming them or demeaning them, even shaming them. Not a good response for a company whose main business is selling products for men.
As the debate has unfolded in social media, it has become, as usual, a war of name-calling. People on one side saying “I’m offended” or “I find that ad problematic”, and people on the other side calling the men “snowflakes” and “he-sterical” (Ha ha good one that. Try calling a feminist “hysterical” when they get worked up). I saw one person who described any attempt to express disagreement as “violent abuse.”
We are at a very dangerous state at the moment. “Toxic masculinity” is a bit of a catch phrase that tries to capture some of the bad behaviour of some men. For example, the antics of some footballers, drunkenness, sexual harassment etc. However there are some people who believe that all masculinity is toxic, and the world would be much better off if men could just be women, or better still not be here at all.
We are told that the traditional masculine traits of physically intense activity, “rough housing”, courage, and stoicism are dangerous.
On the one hand men are told to get in touch with their feelings and learn to express themselves instead of bottling it all up. But the minute they do that, the oh- so compassionate women launch into full blown shrieking harridan mode telling them to “toughen up, snowflake.”
As long as that goes on, men are going to continue to try to soldier on alone, not talking to anyone, trying to work out what worth they bring to the planet.
It’s no wonder that many men who have not been able to find a purpose to live for end up concluding that their lives mean nothing and top themselves.
As for me, I took the rational step of buying a Schick razor today.
2019 World Watch List reveals 245 million Christians experience high levels of persecution
Persecution of Christians worldwide has increased over the past year, with one in nine believers experiencing “high” levels of persecution compared with one in 12 a year ago, according to the 2019 World Watch List released by Open Doors today.
In what Open Doors Australia described as an “hallmark of the success of Christianity,” persecution is growing in both intensity and the number of countries and Christians affected. On the 2019 World Watch List, 73 of the 150 countries surveyed show extreme, very high or high levels of persecution.
“The world will get worse before it gets better … ” – Tim Reid, Open Doors
“The first thing I would say is that persecution is the hallmark of successful Christianity,” Tim Reid, Church Engagement Manager for Open Doors Australia, told Eternity. “I think when the gospel is being shared, persecution increases. I don’t necessarily mean that Christianity is rapidly growing in numbers, but it does mean Christianity is growing in courage.
“The whole philosophy of Open Doors is not necessarily the end of persecution – it’s not even a top priority – it’s to give people the strength to stand under the face of it and try to grow as they can.”
Open Doors estimates that 245 million Christians experience high levels of persecution in the top 50 countries on the World Watch List for 2019. North Korea remained ranked at No 1 in the 2019 list, a position it has held since 2002, with about 50,000 to 70,000 Christians believed to be in labour camps. Russia entered the list at No 41 due to increasing violence from Islamic extremists.
Life for Christians became even more precarious in Nigeria, where 3731 believers were killed – double the number in the 2018 list – by extremist groups of Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram. This accounted for about 90 per cent of the 4136 recorded deaths of Christians as a direct result of persecution in the 2019 list.
According to Reid, increased persecution of Christians in India went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world.
“In India, violence against Christians has been increasing since the Modi government stepped into power, elected with promises to restore Hindu dominance in the nation. Churches have been attacked and Christians assaulted,” he says.
“I spoke in May last year at a Senate inquiry [into religious freedom] about four horror days in India in which three pastors were hospitalised, one losing his fingers in an axe attack.”
Reid told Eternity that these attacks on Christians had flown under the radar of police, so the perpetrators had not received due punishment.
“That kind of Hindu extremism we have also noticed in Nepal and religious nationalism as a topic is starting to spread to other countries too,” he says, giving Myanmar as an example.
Reid there were a few factors behind the increase in persecution.
“We’re seeing religious nationalism increase, so the kind of intensity that we’ve seen from Islamic extremists over the years we are now starting to see in other contexts,” he said.
“But persecution is biblical and the world will get worse before it gets better and there is a move in many nations towards an anti-Christian sentiment.” He said Open Doors was not just committed to social justice but to helping the gospel advance and that necessarily brought with it persecution.
Open Doors Australia is calling for the government to create a permanent position to advise on religious freedom.
“Roles such as that we’ve seen overseas have been really crucial in bringing to the fore at a government level what persecution is already happening,” Reid said.
“So in the Asia-Pacific region, we see that as persecution increases in places like India or China, where we have a great deal of trade, that there are Christians being discriminated against and Australia has a role to play in this area.
“Australia’s human rights record in the department of freedom of religious belief has been quite exemplary, but other people who we trade with it’s not necessarily been the case. So it’s part of Australia’s moral obligation to lift these people in circumstances where they’re not experiencing the same freedom.”
“The unforeseen benefit of that is that many churches are now asking us to speak.” – Mike Gore
Mike Gore, CEO of Open Doors Australia, said the unforeseen benefit of Christians feeling less secure of their place in Australian society was an increased engagement by churches with the persecuted church.
He said there had been a 20 per cent increase in the number of donors to Open Doors Australia, to 11,500. The target was 18,000 by the end of 2020.
“What we’re seeing is a change in a section of the church towards religious freedom in this nation. There’s a big element that’s saying we need the message of Open Doors in our churches now because we’re feeling uncomfortable. Things aren’t feeling as safe anymore. What do we do? We haven’t felt this before and we’re worried about things like same-sex marriage, religious diversity, and all of these fears that the West equates with persecution,” he said.
“The unforeseen benefit of that is that many churches are now asking us to speak.”
“I think an understanding of the increased focus of the media in the last five years on persecution, married with the uncomfortable feeling of changing societal values in Australia, has created a perfect of storm of tensions resolving in churches wanting to know more about the cost of faith.
Reid adds: “What’s really exciting here is that as people engage with persecution, what they will find is the true hope-filled story that where there seems to be persecution the church in many circumstances is still joy-filled and seeking God with all their heart.”
“When people engage with that example, their faith will come alive here in Australia as well.”
Isaiah says he loves Jerusalem and will not stop praying for her. Her
hard times will give way to glory and righteousness. Then the nations
will see Jerusalem and be blinded by her glory.
This speaks of the church. This is the “new name” for Jerusalem.
The covenant isn’t just with Israel any more but to all who love
Jesus.
So, like Isaiah, we should continue to pray for the church- the
assembly of christians, the people who love God. We should pray for
the local church, persecuted christians around the world, the mission
of the church locally and globally.
As we learn to more fully worship and obey the Lord, nations will
come streaming to the church. When we live in the grace and power of
the Holy Spirit, the radiance of God shines from us to those who are
thirsty for the Lord.
World leaders and local politicians will see the way that christians
live and what they achieve. They will ask “How do you do that?”
The ways of the Holy Spirit are perplexing and attractive to those
who do not know the Lord.
Of course, those who see what the church is and what it does and
don’t like it, will rise against it. There are many people who do
not like the light but prefer the darkness. Persecution will always
be a fact of life for christians, but what glory awaits for those who
remain faithful to the Lord.
Prayer
Help me Lord to see the glory of your church. May the nations come to
taste of your mercy, and leaders see your glory. Amen.
I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will
curse Jesus, and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the
Holy Spirit.
Observation
In this passage, Paul explores the area of spiritual gifts. He says
that nobody can curse Jesus if they are speaking by God’s Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them
all. God works in each person in different ways, but He is still the
same God.
God gives His gifts to help us serve one another. These gifts include
words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discernment
of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues.
The gifts all come from one God and are given as He determines.
Application
Back in the 1970’s during the charismatic revival, spiritual gifts
were controversial. Not so much today, in most parts of the church.
Back then there were people who claimed to be “tongue testers”.
They could tell whether a person was speaking in tongues by the Holy
Spirit or some other spirit. So they were using the gift of
discernment of spirits to prove their point that the gifts of the
Spirit are fake.
Here is the good news about spiritual gifts, and tongues in
particular. Nobody curses Jesus while speaking in tongues. If you
love the Lord you will want to please Him. These gifts, even the ones
we cannot rationally understand, will glorify Jesus.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to all who love the Lord.
They are there to help us minister to one another and to glorify God.
Prayer
Father, I thank you for the Holy Spirit. Please help me to understand
how to flow in the gifts of the Spirit so that the Name of Jesus is
lifted up through me. Amen.
If your only way of finding out about what’s happening in this country is either by listening to ABC or reading the Guardian, you’d think the entire country is embarrassed about being Australian, wracked with guilt about Australia’s history and overwhelmingly opposed to celebrating Australia Day on January 26.
Indeed, you’d likely wind up mistakenly thinking that there is a groundswell of anger from mainstream, everyday Australians who believe that Australia Day is by far the most pressing issue facing Australians in 2019.
However, a poll commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs and which was conducted by Research Now, has revealed that this is exactly the opposite to what mainstream Australians really think about themselves as Australians, their history and their values.
In fact, Australians are fundamentally optimistic and positive about being Australian.
The results of the poll show that 87 per cent of Australians are proud to be Australian, while a tiny 3 per cent are not.
When it comes to Australia’s history, 76 per cent of the respondents believe this country has a history to be proud of, while only 11 per cent did not.
The polling also found that 75 per cent of Australians think that we should continue to celebrate Australia Day on January 26 while only 10 per cent actually want the date to be changed. Chances are that if you polled the Canberra Press Gallery with the same questions, the numbers would be significantly different.
These results expose the massive divide between the majority of Australians and the minority of vocal individuals who continually push the narrative of national self-loathing and self-flagellation on to everyday Australians.
The results simply reveal that there is an enormous disconnect between what Australians think about themselves, and what we are being told Australians think about themselves.
Every year, when Australia Day comes around, elements of the media, the political class and a small but noisy group of activists on Twitter, pull out all stops to impose their own version of Australia’s history on the nation.
They are, however, completely and utterly out of touch with mainstream Australia.
Not only are they out of touch, but it seems that the more strident they are in their opposition and the more they obsess about changing the date, the more that Australians want to keep the date.
When the Institute of Public Affairs asked the same question about Australia Day in 2018, 70 per cent of Australians were favour. This year, the number has gone up to 75 per cent. The poll also shows that young people are not being drawn to the divisive argument of opposing our national day.
The more this vocal, activist minority pushes its agenda down their throats, the less inclined everyday Australians are to go along with it.
The poll found that last year 17 per cent of young Australians between the ages of 18-24 said that Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26. This year’s poll shows that, that number has plummeted to just 8 per cent. They, like the majority of Australians know that there are more important issues to think about.
The incessant hounding of the public by activists is having the opposite effect than they intend.
Similarly, our political class likes to present the issue of freedom of speech and freedom of religion as fringe cultural issues being pushed by a small number of conservatives.
Yet again, the poll reveals that the opposite is true.
When asked what they thought about these values, a whopping 92 per cent of the respondents considered freedom of speech to be an important Australian value while 77 per cent said freedom of religion was an important Australian value.
Again, this exposes the disconnect between mainstream Australians and our political class.
Many of the left-wing activists that will be taking part in protests on January 26 have moved on from the change-the-date campaign and are advocating the abolition of Australia Day all together. These activists will never be happy until there is no celebration of our successful, liberal, prosperous, modern nation.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is right when he says there is a majority of “quiet Australians’’ who aren’t obsessed with the issues pushed by the Canberra bubble or a noisy minority. He was right to come down hard on radical local councils who are refusing to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
The Federal government is correct to insist that citizenship ceremonies should be celebrated on the 26th because it is the federal government that gives councils the power to hold them.
The government is perfectly entitled to take away that power from rebellious councils such as Darebin in Victoria, which last year actively encouraged people to go to work on January 26 and take another day off.
Critics of the Prime Minister’s decision have said this is a “public relations stunt designed to further divide this country’’ but the refusal to participate in celebrating Australia as a united country is the truly divisive force.
January 26 marks the foundation of modern Australia and it should be celebrated by all Australians. Rather than being ashamed of it, we should be proud of it.
On January 26 the majority of Australians will be rejecting the overwhelmingly negative rhetoric about this nation’s history.
They will not be out in the streets in force, but they will be with friends and family, celebrating what it is to be Australian.
New Life Narrabri 