If there is one chart that might finally put to rest debate of a pause or "hiatus" in global warming, this chart created by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just supplied it.

For years, climate change sceptics relied on a spike in global temperatures that occurred during the monster 1997-98 El Nino to say the world had stopped warming because later years struggled to set a higher mark even as greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise.

To mangle Shakespeare, nothing in Joe Hockey's treasurership became him like no longer being it.

The usual purloining of the quote concludes "like the leaving it", but Hockey's farewell speech was largely rubbish, confirming that he had never been up to the job.

When the usual platitudes subside as the politicians and gallery wish a  fellow warrior well after long years in a brutal occupation, the speech should be seen as one of the weaker attempts at self-aggrandisement, re-writing history, buck-passing and, finally, apparent disloyalty to Tony Abbott after years of being too loyal. What a mess. 

Ms Goward went further on Monday, telling Fairfax Media turbines' blades created pressure waves that "resonate in the skulls" of people living as far away as five kilometres.

"I don't think we know enough about the impacts," she said. "It is something we should be prioritising."

The Greens’ vote has also taken a hit, according to the poll – down from 16% two months ago to 14%.

Malcolm Turnbull is persecuting a rape victim who he won’t let us talk to us or her lawyers. Can he survive this politically? Bob Ellis doubts it.

from Crikey ….

As far as the public was concerned, the most notable event of the NSW Liberal Party's state council meeting last weekend was the heckling delivered to the Prime Minister after he boasted that the party was "not run by factions".

“And for all of his boasting & efforts to restore the Russian empire, Putin is still a very practical, pragmatic politician & he really doesn't want the nagging issue of, "Did we kill 300 innocents?," hanging around & in - from his perspective, it wouldn't cost him that much to make himself look pretty magnanimous & it seems to me that he's interested most of the time in looking good.”

Greens’ leader Richard di Natale charting rightward course

The Dutch Safety Board just released their investigation into the MH17 crash last summer and they concluded that the Malaysia Airlines 777 was brought down by Ukrainian rebels.