The real test of satire, though, is if we still laugh when it is directed at our friends. Or at ourselves. Plus, as the editor of Private Eye Ian Hislop has hinted, there’s a flipside to the popularity of satire in difficult times. He likes to quote Peter Cook’s dry reference to the thriving 1930s Berlin cabaret scene, “which did so much to stop the rise of Hitler”.

That doesn’t mean satire isn’t a vital safety valve. Hislop employs that quote only to show that he doesn’t take himself or his magazine too seriously: he is satirising himself. But already his warning is being taken literally on social media, where there’s an idea springing up that the whole Trump-Brexit thing is “just not funny any more”, and maybe it’s somehow borderline treacherous to be making jokes when you should be “resisting” or marching or doing something really useful like sending a lot of earnest tweets.

read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/13/mccarthys-sean-spi...

Unfortunately, due to a devious sneaky duplicitous hypocritical move, Bob Menzies, the father of the CONservative party in Australia, called his new party, the "Liberal Party" which would confuse any Yanks, the Yaks and the Yobbos since there is not an ounce of "liberal" thought in this CONservative outfit that sleeps well with nazis, racists, sexists, anti-science dorks and extremists of all rightwing sorts, including the KKK. Progressive they are not. Liars? Sure. Cynical? Sure. Satirists? Not on your nelly. They are sarcastic bastards. 

"Energy security is on the agenda as politicians face off in Question Time, with the Prime Minister describing South Australia as the "canary in the coalmine". Follow live." Don't bother.

Sure, Malcolm, the canary in the coalmine is telling us something: that it is NOT SAFE TO DIG AND BURN MORE COAL. It has always been so. Should the canary die, get the hell out of here. The coal mine is unsafe and could explode any moment. But to use the "canary in the coal mine" TO "BLAME RENEWABLE ENERGY" in relation to the blackout in South Australia is stupid. The New South Wales bushfires are A THOUSAND more "canaries in the coalmines" because they tell us we have too much CO2 in the atmosphere and the temperature on the surface of the planet is going up and up and up. Burning more coal will add to the misery of all. You are an idiot, Malcolm. You should be in prison for crimes against the future of this planet.

Independence from the grid. See:

http://solpad.com

read also:

The first national audit of batteries that store solar power shows almost 7,000 were installed in Australian homes last year — and that's predicted to triple this year.

• Solar experts say the market for batteries exploded mid-2016
• They predict batteries will play an important role in energy networks in a few years
• Some consumers see batteries as a way to ensure they have adequate power supply

Warwick Johnston from solar consultancy SunWiz carried out the audit by speaking to manufacturers and suppliers.

"There was a significant fall in battery prices mid-way through 2016 and the popularity of batteries just exploded," he told the ABC.

He said with South Australia battling blackouts, batteries would eventually be a "game changer" for Australia's energy networks.

Solar batteries are expensive, but intense competition has brought prices down.

About 20 manufacturers are producing around 90 products for sale in Australia, with the cheapest battery retailing for $1,200.

Many larger batteries still cost between $8,000 and $10,000.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-14/solar-batteries-like-tesla-explodi...

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All this of course will make the power companies which are trying to hang on to power monopoly spitting chips... They don't want you to have independent power supply. They want to bill you every quarter for as much as they can get away with. But as Malcolm is bullshitting about coal, solar power and wind power will HAVE TO BE the only source of electricity by 2025. Anyone trying to push "clean"coal is a charlatan and a conman. Turnbull and his Merry KONservatives are con-men and con-women... GO AWAY...

The next couple of years will be messy in regard to energy supply. Should they be able to provide you with cheaper REALLY ECOLOGICAL RENEWABLE power, they will survive, leaner but better. The electricity providers have to tell Malcolm to shove his clean coal up his arse. And this is the most polite way I can describe the process.

Farm lobby groups have stepped up their campaign to reduce electricity costs on behalf of producers struggling to cope with rising prices.

National Irrigators Council chief executive Steve Whan said high costs were putting particular pressure on irrigators.

But some irrigators are taking things into their own hands and have adopted solar panels to help cut costs.

Queensland irrigator John Russo has teamed up with an electrician to develop a solar powered pump that will cut his power bills without reducing reliability.

Mr Russo has a 200 hectare cane farm near Childers in the state's south Burnett region.

He said the combination of solar panels, a variable speed driven pump and a centre pivot irrigator had allowed him to triple the size of his peanut plantings. 

Mr Russo said he expected future power bills to be slashed in half.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-14/irrigators-turn-to-solar/8268004

The coal industry's multi-million-dollar advertising and lobbying campaign in the run-up to the last federal election was bankrolled by money deducted from state mining royalty payments and meant to fund research into "clean coal".

The mining industry spent $2.5 million pushing the case for lower-emissions, coal-fired power plants in the run-up to last year's election — a cause the Federal Government has since taken up with gusto.

The source of the funds was a voluntary levy on coal companies, originally intended to fund research into "clean coal" technologies, which coal producers could deduct from state mining royalties.

Instead, some of the money raised paid for phone polling, literature and TV ads that declared "coal — it's an amazing thing".

The funds were channelled through the Australian Coal Association Low Emissions Technology Limited (ACALET), formerly owned by the Australian Coal Association and now part of the Minerals Council for Australia.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-20/coal-advertising-funded-by-money-m...