Bits and Pieces.

I think we can give up hope this third consecutive La Niña will be any better than her two previous sisters.

On Thursday 6th Sydney broke the record for the rainiest year since data collection began in 1858: that day rainfall over Observatory Hill meteorological station totalled 2,206.8 mm. The previous record (2,194.0 mm in 1950) had stood for 72 years.

(source])

To give readers – particularly European ones – an idea how much rain that is: in the 278 days of the year from January 1st to October 6th 2,606.8 litres of water fell over every square metre around Observatory Hill (1,000 litres of distilled water weigh 1,000 kg: one tonne).

From October 6th to the end of the year there are 87 days.

Quotable Quotes: Zelensky and Biden.

A small nuclear explosion: only 23 kilotons. [A]

“But what is important – I once again appeal to the international community, as I did before February 24 – we need pre-emptive strikes, so that they [the Russians] will know what will happen to them if they use nukes, and not the other way around.

“Don’t wait for Russia’s nuclear strikes, and then say, ‘Oh, since you did this, take that from us!’ Reconsider the way you apply pressure. This is what NATO should do – reconsider the order in which it applies pressure [on Russia]” – Volodymir Zelensky (English translation, as reported here).

With that Zelensky was answering Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute, in Sydney on Thursday 6th. During the question and answer session following Zelensky’s speech Fullilove had asked: “Mr President, in your remarks you mentioned nuclear blackmail. Mr Putin told us the other day that he’s not bluffing. So may I ask you, do you believe that the likelihood of the use of Russian nuclear weapons against Ukraine has risen, and what more do you want NATO to do to deter Russia from using nuclear weapons?”

Peddling Fake News.

Last week SBS journos – self-appointed guardians of journalistic truth – were wondering:

(source)

Alas, it was fake news. In fairness, they were not alone, and – as a matter of fact – did not fully commit to the rumours, as other news outlets did. A number of talking heads, accepted worldwide as experts on the matter, were much more sure that something was going on:

(source)

There’s a lot of Western experts and journos who lost the plot, which means the Western media is suffering from Putin-Xi Derangement Syndrome.