California’s Cautionary Clean Energy

Despite their advocates’ urgent claims, renewable energy sources are still intermittent, unreliable, and far more expensive than advertised.

California’s headlong rush to replace its electricity grid with renewable energy has given the rest of the country a preview of the decarbonized future that Joe Biden and his revived Clean Power Plan envision for America. It isn’t pretty.

Before supply-chain woes and federal stimulus goosed inflation, California’s cost of living already ranked second highest in the nation. Enthusiastic efforts to rely more heavily on wind and solar power—touted as “cheap” sources of clean energy—have only made the state more expensive.

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A misunderstood paper on UFOs draws criticism of the Pentagon

More than a month ago, a draft version of a scientific paper on the subject of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP or UFOs) was published at Harvard. The authors of the paper were Dr. Avi Loeb, a Harvard professor, theoretical physicist, and cosmologist, working with Sean Kirkpatrick, the head of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). The paper speculated on the origins of some UAP and the types of technology that might be required to account for the performance characteristics some of the objects appear to display.

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The ‘Koranation’ of King Charles III

There are many reasons to be concerned about King Charles III. His general kowtowing to ‘wokery’ is risible, since the Left desires nothing more than his abolition. What concerns me the most, however, is his Islamophilia.

Whatever your opinion of the British monarchy, there is no denying her late Majesty‘s devotion to the nation. Her stoicism, her political neutrality, and the universal affection she inspired are likely to remain unparalleled. Beyond that, however, is the comfort she provided us in the traditions she upheld; a realisation that struck many of us only in the wake of her passing. The ascension of King Charles III, therefore, signals much more than a perfunctory changing of the guard. It is arguably the end of an era.

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Leaked Pentagon docs show the shot-down Chinese spy balloon may have had a feature known as ‘synthetic aperture radar’ that can see through certain materials, WaPo reports

In February, a high-altitude balloon with surveillance capabilities connected to China flew over the continental US before being shot down over the Atlantic.

At the time, much about the balloon wasn’t known publicly, but a new trove of Pentagon documents leaked on Discord show it — and up to four other previously unknown spy balloons like it — could have had a feature known as “synthetic aperture radar” that can see through certain objects, the Washington Post reported.

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old US National Guard airman, was arrested Thursday in connection to the leaks.

h/t DM

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Sweetheart World Cup deal for MLSE is bad news for you and me

When my furnace broke one day in February I went into my savings and purchased a new furnace so my family would be warm. I did not go into my savings and splurge on the state of the art foosball table I have always wanted to put in the basement. For some reason it occurred to me that not dying of frostbite should take precedence over playing a game — even a really fun one.

This deal may not be criminal but it should be.

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Darkness of Discord: the social media platform you’ve never heard of

As Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old IT specialist, was arraigned on espionage charges in Boston on Friday, fresh questions emerged about the biggest intelligence leak to hit the US in a decade.

How was it that a junior IT guy had access to so many top-secret files? Why was it apparently so easy for him to copy and spirit them out of Otis air base in Cape Cod, Massachusetts?

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What is the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and what does it do?

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation has been mired in a political controversy that pushed the organization’s president and board to resign last week.

At the centre of the controversy is a 2016 donation from two donors with links to the Chinese government. The donors pledged $200,000 to the foundation at the time.

While the donation spurred an initial controversy in 2016, interest in the story revived in the wake of recent media reports stating Beijing interfered in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. The foundation said it would reimburse the funds but apparently ran into administrative roadblocks. (Radio-Canada has confirmed the donation has since been returned.)

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4 killed, as many as 20 injured in shooting at Alabama teen’s birthday party: reports

Four people were killed and as many as 20 others were injured following a mass shooting during a 16-year-old’s birthday party in eastern Alabama on Saturday night, according to reports.

Most of the shooting’s victims were teenagers since the shooting took place at a birthday party for a 16-year-old, according to Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school football team.

As many as 6 dead say some reports. h/t Andycanuck

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Gunmen kill 7, including child, at resort swimming pool in Mexico

At least seven people were killed, including a 7-year-old child, when a group of gunmen stormed a resort teeming with vacationers in central Mexico on Saturday.

An eighth person was seriously injured in the mid-afternoon shooting — which took the lives of three women, three men and a child — near the pool at the La Palma resort in Cortazar, a small town south of the city of Guanajuato.

Alarming video footage taken soon after the assault showed stunned adults and children walking dead bodies piled up near the pool.

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Like Father Like Son …

How views of Pierre Trudeau led RCMP to provide first close security for an ex-PM

OTTAWA – With threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spiking in recent years, newly released historical records reveal the security concerns the RCMP had when his father was getting ready to leave office.

Pierre Trudeau retired in 1984 after serving as prime minister for two stints adding up to 15 years. He had been first elected in 1968.

As Trudeau prepared to retire, records show that security officials did not see any current threats against him — but that they believed his track record could invite future ones.

Deservedly the most hated PM ever …

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Germans split as last three nuclear power stations go off grid

On the other side of the Gate, there were protests, as demonstrators marched against the closure of Germany’s three remaining nuclear power stations.

By midnight on Saturday, Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 had all gone offline.

At the Brandenburg Gate, where the Wall once divided Cold War Berlin, nuclear energy is an ideological fault-line that splits the country. It is an issue that is emotionally charged like few others. And particularly now as war in Europe again looms large.

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GOLDSTEIN: Trudeau’s emission targets — they’re here, they’re there, they’re everywhere!

Assurances by the Trudeau government that Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions would decrease annually every year after 2019 lasted for exactly one year — 2020 — before they began increasing again, according to new federal data released Friday.

It reported Canada’s emissions rose to 670 million tonnes in 2021 — an increase of 12 million tonnes or 1.8% — compared to Canada’s emissions in 2020.

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