Wednesday Open Thread

9.4 out of 10 based on 15 ratings

129 comments to Wednesday Open Thread

  • #
    John Hultquist

    Apparently, several countries have been visited by big white balloons. I assume they were meant to be seen. Otherwise, they should have been blue. There is blue plastic – right?

    140

    • #
      David Maddison

      Apparently the spy balloons had solar panels and propellers and were highly maneuverable.

      There is an informative video at:

      https://youtu.be/k2xz21HvLs8

      6.5 mins

      70

      • #
        Memoryvault

        At the rate this farce is growing, by the end of next week we’ll learn it had a division of battle tanks tucked away in a side-pocket, each modified to fire MIRV nuke warheads. China’s airborne answer to the Yanks Ohio Class subs.

        It was a bloody weather balloon.

        617

        • #
          Hanrahan

          Why are you making excuses for the CCP? Weather balloons have a max payload, about 4 kg, by convention.

          The manufacturer of the Chinese spy balloons, China Zhuzhou Rubber Research & Design Institute Co Ltd., is a government-owned military research institute with weapon production licenses. Its military supporting products were used in the “Shenzhou V” manned spacecraft, and have won the PLA General Armament Department commendation. It is a designated research institution for the weather balloons of all military branches of the PLA, and the only professional research institute in the latex industry.

          131

          • #
            Memoryvault

            I’m not making excuses for anybody. I’m trying to get people to engage their brains and apply a little bit of common sense. By definition “surveillance” is meant to go undetected. That’s a tad difficult with an object the size of three buses casually floating around for everybody to see.

            There countless posts here by people lamenting the fear campaign used to sell the covid vax. And yet much the same people are now falling for exactly the same kind of fear propaganda campaign of an existential threat to our lives from a balloon.

            The whole thing is worthy of a Monty Python skit.

            146

            • #
              Hanrahan

              It wasn’t a weather balloon. You are lying for some reason.

              64

              • #
                Ted1.

                Lying? No liars here! Not that will admit it, anyway.

                That is why I don”t like sarcasm. It confuses, especially when recorded in print.

                I can’t remember where, but I have read before of balloons doing that trip.

                Was it the Japanese in WWII, seeking a way to deliver atom bombs to the US?

                Does anybody here remember?

                10

              • #
                Graeme No.3

                Ted1.
                The Japanese launched a large scale ballon attack on the USA in late WW2 with incenduary payloads and a timed release. Cheap, easy to make using non-strategic materials and with the hope of causing massive fires in the West of Canada and the USA. It wasn’t successful as there was an early failure alerting the authorities who instituted a news blackout so the Japanese gave up after many were launched.
                https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/02/05/japan-used-balloons-to-send-bombs-into-u-s-interior-during-wwii/

                00

            • #
              Adellad

              A Monty Python skit would see a weather balloon drift over Alaska, Canada and continental US – including such important weather sites as Montana’s ICBM’s – over several days. What is your explanation – that it is actually an errant weather balloon?
              Or maybe it’s just a dead parrot?

              141

            • #
              Graeme No.3

              The four weather balloons?
              No, Montana doesn’t rhyme with Yorkshire (and I know that Monty P script was pinch from At Last the 1948 Show).

              20

        • #
          TdeF

          As a steerable, powered, height changing balloon what was it doing over the missile silos in North Dakota? Checking the weather in America?

          121

        • #
        • #
          robert rosicka

          Memoryvault the CCP were experimenting with using high altitude balloons as a platform for dropping high velocity guided missiles back in 2018 , and given this balloon floated near or over a strategic missile cluster I think it’s safe to say it was no weather ballon .

          90

      • #
        Mark Kaiser

        Thanks David, well worth the watch.

        I have one problem with all this. If 3 years ago there were other balloons invading U.S. airspace, but they didn’t realize it at the time, how do they know this now?

        Or did they know about the balloons 3 years ago but didn’t tell any top officials?

        140

      • #
        TdeF

        The balloons steer mainly by utilizing cross winds at different altitudes. There is a separate inflatable balloon for changing height rapidly. You can get a few different directions at different heights.

        80

        • #
          David Maddison

          In addition to altitude control to utilise different wind directions, they evidently also have propellers, powered by solar panels and presumably batteries at night.

          140

        • #
          MrGrimNasty

          Yes, using the winds is the main mechanism for ‘steering’.

          30

      • #
        David Maddison

        Here is an example of a student built solar powered blimp with propellers. Not quite a balloon but close. It proves the feasibility of the idea.

        https://inhabitat.com/worlds-first-solar-powered-blimp-set-to-cross-the-english-channel/

        The mammoth airship measures 72 feet long and 18 feet wide and has a nylon and polyethylene aluminum frame. It also features semi-flexible solar cells that can generate up to 2.4 kilowatts — enough to keep the blimp moving at 25 mph. The cells power a motor that turns two big red propellers, which in turn are expected to send the ship across the Channel in under an hour.

        30

      • #
        MrGrimNasty

        They can’t possibly be highly manoeuvrable, it’s a massive balloon with limited power at the mercy of immense winds. I’ve watched the Goodyear airship fail to make progress in a strong breeze at ground level!

        40

        • #
          Memoryvault

          Careful, Mr GrimNasty –
          You are attempting to apply logic and common sense to this matter.
          Neither are very popular around here at the moment.

          05

        • #
          TdeF

          Having flown in a hot air balloon at 4,000′, it is all about changing altitude, often not by much. They release small balloons before taking off to measure the different directions at different altitudes. Three concurrent wind directions is quite common.

          As this balloon is not manned and cruising around 60,000 feet the height options may be many . You can grab jet streams and move very quickly and drop out to catch another direction. It started in China and apparently headed for the US. That is supposed to be accidental? Really? And its purpose was to measure the weather in America? All that data is freely available.

          The most important thing is to argue that it was scientific research with a one tonne payload? This is no weather balloon but they had to say something and there is always someone who will believe it.

          60

    • #
      • #
        MrGrimNasty

        Disappointing the way he agrees there’s no fixed height to which sovereignty extends, then jumps to, just let’s assume the balloon was below that unknown limit.
        Avoids the whole crux of the issue!

        10

        • #
          Hanrahan

          I thought he said that whether the object was in orbit or not was the determining factor. If a conventional aircraft can shoot it down it is, by definition, below the unstated limit.

          Simple high altitude has never prevented Russia from shooting down commercial aircraft. They are recidivists on this with total deaths over 500 I’m pretty sure.

          10

          • #
            Peter C

            Russia also shot down Gary Powers U2 spy plane.
            I suppose that was legitimate since it was in fact on a spying mission.

            20

            • #
              Hanrahan

              He may have simply been lost, as the CCP claims for their balloon. 😀

              BTW Russia tried hard to shoot down another U2 that DID get lost over the Nth Pole where you can’t navigate by compass. The pilot had trouble with his star shots because of the aurora and wandered into Soviet airspace. This was at the worst moments of the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy was not pleased.

              10

          • #
            KP

            Americans are pretty good at shooting down civilian airliners too, just ask the Iranians..

            10

  • #
    william x

    This is Jo’s blog but I think that this is important to pass on to you.

    Dr Marohasy was called as a witness in the case below:

    “John William Abbot versus Director of Meteorology”

    She has not been able to comment on the case till today.

    Dr Marohasy has posted on her site:

    Hyping Maximum Daily Temperatures (Part 5) dated 8th Feb 2023.

    https://jennifermarohasy.com/2023/02/hyping-maximum-daily-temperatures-part-5/

    Read how the BoM cannot provide the parallel data requested for the crucial months she was investigating.

    210

    • #
      Mark Kaiser

      Hi, william x. Jo’s blog but she is gracious enough to allow us to choose some of the topics.

      I have been following this in WUWT. Very interesting very frustrating.

      From her blog:

      Except, there are no recordings from the mercury for September 2013 and 2014, and September 2012 has so far been withheld.

      I’ll bet that’s due to National Security issues.😉

      190

      • #
        GlenM

        As I implied at her site, this is a cover up in order to manipulate the temperature/climate record. I mean, these scum who smugly deny information because they feel protected by the so-called powers that be has to be called. Frankly, I’d like to get in there and wring a few necks.

        40

  • #
    Leo G

    I assume they were meant to be seen.

    I doubt they are meant to be seen by the civilian population.

    Likely, the CCP have been habituating US defence personnel involved in providing aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection to this kind of incursion into US protected airspace.

    The benefit for the CCP is a backup surveillance system to the spy satellite at a fraction of the cost, and which could be particularly valuable at the commencement of a serious conflict.

    71

    • #
      el+gordo

      It was an accident, weather balloons became wayward, according to this editorial directly from his master’s voice.

      https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202302/07/WS63e234e4a31057c47ebad720.html

      32

      • #
        TdeF

        So where are the American and German and French and British giant weather balloons around the world? This was a giant balloon with a one ton payload of instrumentation, not a disposable one. And you might tell the host country that you were crossing, especially if it is accidental. Otherwise they might think you are spying. Which is completely ridiculous. You are measuring stuff. Exactly what is the question. CO2 perhaps?

        30

        • #
          el+gordo

          Beijing informed the Americans before it went over their country, but Joe reckons it was a good time to show how tuff he is. There are a lot of paranoid people in the US.

          00

          • #

            We can just be thankful that it did not overfly Roswell, eh!

            Tony.

            40

            • #
              el+gordo

              Ah yes, the good old days when weather balloons were really scary.

              It just so happens that Biden is looking into what has been dubbed ‘Before Roswell’. In 1945 a avocado shape UFO hit a tower not far from Roswell and crashed. A couple of young lads on horseback went down to have a look and they saw the pilots inside, small as children with big black eyes.

              11

        • #
          yarpos

          Its amazing to me that the US with open borders, societal decay and a steady escalation towards WW3 to feed the war machine, has any bandwidth left to worry about f’ing ballons.

          20

          • #
            Hanrahan

            Care to list all the actions the US is taking to start WWIII?

            Easy to say.

            00

            • #
              KP

              “Care to list all the actions the US is taking to start WWIII?

              Easy to say.” …and easy to do-

              Pushing NATOs borders up to Russia, just like they said they would never do.

              Putting biolabs in Ukraine and experimenting on Slavic peoples.

              Starting the action against Russia with their coup in 2014.

              Blowing up the North stream pipelines to make sure Germany can’t go against America’s wishes.

              Starting an economic war against Russia with the sanctions they pushed all their lapdogs to apply.

              Pouring billions of dollars in weapons into Ukraine to try and break Russia while weakening Europe as a competitor on the world stage.

              ..the start of the death throes of the American Empire, luckily we will get the rest of the world united against them after this and see what a multipolar world really looks like!

              30

    • #
      Ted1.

      Leo. “I assume they were meant to be seen.”

      Surely BOM records are public property.

      10

  • #
    Andrew

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/volunteer-divers-make-surprising-coral-find-that-science-had-missed-20230207-p5cilj.html

    It’s behind a paywall but basically a volunteer diving group discovered coral where The Science has been saying there is none.

    90

    • #
      another ian

      Gives an idea of what the “reef criers” can’t see from their bloody aeroplane

      40

    • #
      GlenM

      Effing amazing ain’t it. The clowns at JCU and AIMS still sucking up for funding regardless. A cat. 4 TC comes close to land and tears up the reef and the tourists get to say “wow” how beaut these coral sand beaches are. Sad that people don’t have the capacity to reflect on nature and time.

      20

  • #
    Sambar

    Government approval for people to receive their 5th booster shot for Covid 19.
    So this must be an admittion that the first 4 shots were ineffective. Was it Einstein that said “the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”
    First shot was ineffective, second shot ineffective, 3rd shot ( booster ) ineffective, 4th shot ineffective, I know, lets authorise a 5th shot, that will surely work

    171

    • #
      David Maddison

      I assume you mean:

      https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/07/fifth-covid-vaccine-for-australian-adults-to-roll-out-later-this-month

      Obviously no one in government, the medical profession, academia or news media are bothering to read the reports of huge numbers of deaths and injuries from the vaccines nor have they noticed approx. 16% rate of excess deaths in Australia.

      291

      • #
        Mark Kaiser

        David, no one around the world has identified the cause of the excess deaths.

        But they know it’s not THAT.

        10

    • #
      John Connor II

      A “dose” of reality:

      Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel Admits Company Produced 100,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses In 2019 Before The Pandemic Started

      https://twitter.com/healthbyjames/status/1622960172972015616

      110

      • #
        David Maddison

        So they had all these doses, all that was needed was for a hostile power to start the pandemic….

        70

    • #
      Leo G

      Was it Einstein who said: “the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”?

      Albert was not a fan of quantum mechanics wherein a skilled investigator can do the same thing many times and get different results.

      “God does not play dice” he is reliably reported to have to have said- less reliably to have continued “but if He does, He’s rigged the game”. He thought there were hidden aspects of reality that were not addressed by the then formulation of quantum theory.

      Nobel Prize winning physicist Frank Wilczek has defended Einstein’s position with the comment: “Naïveté is doing the same thing over and over, and always expecting the same result”.

      41

      • #
        TdeF

        Einstein was dismissive of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle which was the context of his dice comment. And he was wrong. He was however the inventor of quanta which was the basis of his work on the photo electric effect for which he won the Nobel prize. And that
        effect confirmed Max Plancks solution for the Ultra Violet Catastrophe.

        30

        • #
          TdeF

          Although I am not aware of this different result story or any different result story in Nuclear Physics.

          Rather it was explaining the results they had which was the puzzle, especially the radiation curve from a black body. And spectra.

          Quanta were required and once they were introduced, there was a cascade of explanations most notably in spectra from excited atoms
          which gave rise to a whole range of spectral analysis from chemistry to nuclear.

          It meant the electrons were in discrete energy levels rather than traditional orbits as with gravitation. Everything behaved according to quantum mechanics not Newtonian mechanics.

          31

        • #
          Leo G

          He was however the inventor of quanta which was the basis of his work on the photo electric effect for which he won the Nobel prize

          Einstein had a famous dispute with Niels Bohr over Quantum Theory at the 1927 Solvay Conference and in 1935 co-authored a paper in the Physical Review claiming to refute Quantum Theory.

          The paper, “Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?”, elicited a rebuttal from Bohr.

          20

          • #
            TdeF

            Basically while Einstein showed that quanta existed, the separate theory of ‘quantum mechanics’ based on probability as described by Schoedinger’s equation is not the same thing at all.

            It was an invention of Neils Bohr and Max Planck for which they earned the Nobel Prize and Einstein fundamentally disagreed. While Einstein had demonstated that elementary particles had the characteristics both of waves and particles he would not accept the description of them as waves with probability instead of discrete existence. His interest was in a unified field theory which would integrate gravity and electromagnetism so he headed into the macro rather than the micro.

            Max Born was also credited with part of the development of Quantum Mechanics. A Jewish German physicist he was the Great Grandfather of Olivia Newton John.

            40

      • #
        Hanrahan

        “Naïveté is doing the same thing over and over, and always expecting the same result”.

        I like it. Can I have it?

        10

    • #

      Not just a divide btw Right and Left these days but btw
      Normal and Crazee.

      50

      • #
        Adellad

        As Sarah Huckabee-Sanders said today (our time) in the official GOP response to Biden’s SOTU address.

        40

    • #
      GlenM

      I spoke to a medical professional a couple of days ago who urged me to overdose after I informed him that I was double vaxxed. I told him the next shot will be triple shot of Laphroig.

      60

    • #
      Lawrie

      Not wishing anyone bad luck but Ray Hadley on 2GB has been a big promoter of vaccine. He stated that he will get his fifth as soon as he qualifies i.e. six months after the fourth. Meanwhile his compatriot on Breakfast, Ben Fordam, has been publicising vaccine damage including to one of their work experience girls. Maybe a small adverse reaction will slow Ray down as I am sure many people now are wary of the “vaccine”. I had the first two and I have had the dreaded Covid so I figure all is well and I’ll stick to my multi vitamins and Vitamin D.

      00

  • #
    David Maddison

    Spectacular video of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
    Prototype America’s Cup yacht.

    It uses hydrofoils and the hull mostly floats above water.

    https://youtu.be/UCUK2uIIDFM

    70

    • #
      TdeF

      Extraordinary tacks and gybes. 2 seconds and the sails amidships at all times. They just use the speed of the boat and of course the extraordinary stability from those outriggers. It is interesting that they can raise and lower them quickly because they seem to have no work to do on the sails at all. I wonder how high it can point with speed?

      20

  • #
    John Connor II

    Insects produce MORE methane than cattle!

    By weight, cattle do not produce the most methane. Insects do. There are a variety of insects, that also have methanogens in their digestive tracts, that produce methane.

    (Methanogens are bacteria in the digestive tract that produce methane via fermentation also known as methanogenesis). Cockroaches, termites, centipedes and various arthropods all produce methane as noted in this study from 1994 “Methane production in terrestrial arthropods.” Roughly 200 to 300 hundred cockroaches emit as much methane as a head of cattle.

    If you look back at articles from the early 1980’s on termites, based on laboratory (in vitro) experiments, many scientists thought termites could be responsible for up to 30% of global methane emissions.

    However when the termites were looked at in their natural environments (in situ), the methane produced via methanogenesis in termites digestive tracts was more than offset by methanotrophs in the the soils and degrading materials of the environments that the termites lived in. Methanotrophs are bacteria that digest atmospheric methane (methane oxidation).

    Now the problem with so much of the discussion with cattle and methane is that there is no discussion of context. The way enteric emissions (essentially burps) have been measured with cattle is either through masks, SF6 tracers, or chambers. This means the cattle’s emissions are measured out of the context of where the cattle live.

    In healthy well managed pastures, cattle help build organic soil matter that stores more carbon via photosynthesis (carbon is pumped by plants roots into the soil in exchange for soil nutrients) and due to the land not being disturbed.

    These animals were in intact functioning ecosystems where all the enteric CH4 was offset via carbon sequestration and methane oxidation. Part of the problem with domestic ruminants are feedlots and poor grazing management. With feedlots, this takes the ruminants out of the ecosystem context. With poor grazing, that also reduces the effectiveness of the ecosystem offsets.

    But , as this research from India notes, the biggest problem with messing up the context for where ruminants use to roam is tillage, bare ground and synthetic inputs for Ag production (especially industrial Ag production for commodity crops as well as tilled organic for annual production) since these methods and inputs destroys the capacity of the soils in these ecosystems to function as GHG sinks for both carbon AND methane.

    https://www.quora.com/Do-cows-produce-the-most-methane/answer/Stephen-Zwick

    Beefcentral just posted a commrntary on the topic too.

    Biogenic Methane from ruminant animals such as cows has an atmospheric life cycle of about 12 years, that is, methane released from herbivores into the atmosphere react with hydroxyl radicals and sunlight and breaks down to form Carbon (Co2) and Water (H2o). Twelve years in geological terms is almost what you would call instantaneous.

    Global methane levels recorded the largest annual increase ever observed in 2021, somehow this is the cow’s fault.

    The global cow population has remained stable over the last 47 years and the biogenic cycle of methane emitted from cows is fully recycled, why are cows being targeted as the enemy and blamed for this problem? Why are farmers being forced to pay for a problem which doesn’t exist? Why is industry pouring millions of dollars into an imaginary fix?

    https://www.beefcentral.com/news/opinion-why-methane-from-cows-is-being-unfairly-treated/

    160

    • #
      Leo G

      Roughly 200 to 300 hundred cockroaches emit as much methane as a head of cattle.

      So, how many cockroaches per day should a warmenist eat to compensate for beef eaten by skeptics?

      150

    • #
      TdeF

      This methane business is science rubbish. It is 1/30th of the power of CO2 which has no proven effect. And with 8 million people on the planet the biggest change in 100 years is in the output of CO2 by 7 million extra people, just breathing.

      But the WEF does not say to get rid of the people, just that the people should eat the insects. But then who eats the deadwood?

      That may be the point. If we eat all the termites then the wood does not decay which counts for carbon credits. But the termites are made from CO2 as well and instead of living long lives, they are consumed in sandwiches. Nett zero effect except they are disgusting.

      It is all such science nonsense when CO2 is in rapid worldwide equilibrium and evaporates from the water as much as that other much more powerful greenhouse gas. Water.

      What is amazing is that we have managed to get fossil fuel up to 3% of CO2. And that is self limiting as in any equilibrium. The more you are out of balance, the faster it is restored. Like a pendulum swinging where the period is independent of displacement.

      60

      • #
        TdeF

        And if the termites do not eat the wood, fungi will do the job. Perhaps slower than termites but effective. So now we have to have fungi sandwiches. Oh well. Vegemite was the same problem with leftover beer yeast and that was sold to an unsuspecting population as a health food. Putting a rose in every cheek.

        40

    • #
      Graeme#4

      Termites alone produce an estimated 20 million tonnes of methane annually, but cows only 1.3 to 1.5 million tonnes. Each termite only contributes around half a microgram per day. Other insects that significantly contribute are centipedes and scarab beetle larvae.

      40

      • #
        TdeF

        It is all part of decomposition of cellulose, by whatever mechanism. Even if they could eliminate the termites, it would decompose with mold and fungus. This hatred of nature is part of the business of the people haters of the WEF. Their view seems that humans infest the planet and need to be removed. And they could take the termites which are a relative of the cockroaches with them.

        40

    • #
      Lawrie

      But insects are natural whereas cattle are not. Is that not the case? Cattle are an imported species brought from a far distant land not of this earth.

      00

  • #
    Sambar

    Latest BoM media release regarding Austraian climate for the last 12 months. Apparently Aust was half a degree warmer that the 1961 1990 average. I wonder why it starts at 1961 rather than when records apparenty commenced in 1910 ( instead of 1890 when you know it was to hot to fit the narrative) and why finish at 1990. Why wouldnt it finish at 2021? I’m no statistion but I thought that information over a longer time frame gave a better result. Why leave out the last 30 years as part of the comparison?
    I know people in S.A., all over Victoria a couple in N.S.W. and 2 in Old. From a staw poll of my contacts ALL complained of 2022 being much colder than average so W.A and the N.T must have been really hot to sway the average.
    Equally, as I was attempting to negotiate the BoM website I noticed that
    a/ La Nina was blamed for a wetter than average year, the BoM claiming that this is only the second time 3 consecutive La Ninas had been observed since observations began in 1900. ( I didn’t know that these cycles were know about in 1900 let alone being “observed”
    b/ mean ocean temps had increased since the early 1900’s
    c/ The oceans had acidified around Australia.
    Form 4 tech school chemistry taught me that any pH value above 7.0 was still basic and yet the BoM scientists believe that any reductions in pH while still above 7 means the oceans are increasing in acidity.
    Even Google states average ocean pH is around 8.1 which is basic but as the oceans contiue to absorbe CO2 the pH decreases and the oceans become more acidic.No mention that before any acidity increases the oceans have to pass though neutral.

    Cut from the BoM website Media@BoM.gov.au
    Wetter and warmer than average for Australia overall

    Australia’s national mean temperature was 0.50 °C warmer than the 1961–1990 average, making 2022 the equal-22nd-warmest year on record.
    The mean annual maximum temperature was above average for most of northern Australia, Tasmania, and parts of the west coast, but below average for New South Wales, southern Queensland, and parts of South Australia.
    The mean annual minimum temperature was above or very much above average for the majority of Australia.
    It was especially warm for the tropics, with severe to extreme heatwave conditions affecting parts of the north and the west several times during 2022.
    Nationally-averaged rainfall was 26% above the 1961–1990 average at 587.8 mm, which makes 2022 the ninth-wettest year on record for Australia.
    Rainfall was very much above average for the south-eastern quarter of the mainland, compared to all years since 1900, but below average for western Tasmania, much of the north of the Northern Territory, and the far south-west of Western Australia.
    In eastern Australia, persistent rain saw significant flooding affecting large areas multiple times during the year.
    Water storage levels have been high across much of Australia during 2022, although some storages remained at low levels in parts of central coast Queensland, western Tasmania, south-east New South Wales, and western Victoria.
    The main climate influences active during 2022 were La Niña, which persisted through summer 2021–22, dissipated during autumn, then re-developed in early September and continued through the end of 2022; a negative Indian Ocean Dipole in winter and spring; and a persistently positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode from mid-autumn onwards.

    50

  • #
    John Connor II

    Rare Cancer Causes US Man to Suddenly Develop an Irish Sounding Accent

    A rare form of prostate cancer caused a man in his 50s to suddenly speak with an accent that sounded remarkably like an Irish brogue; a stark change that stuck with him for the rest of his life.

    In medical literature, there are only two other reports of cancers triggering foreign accent syndrome (FAS). This is the first case linked to prostate cancer specifically.

    FAS is an unusual speech disorder that can cause a person to suddenly break out in a ‘foreign’ accent for no known reason, with pronunciation shifting in ways that resemble – superficially at least – the cadence of another dialect or language.

    Given the timing, doctors suspect the patient’s FAS was the result of a rare paraneoplastic neurological disorder (PND). PND is caused when cancers outside of the brain trigger an immune response that can impact the nervous system from afar.

    Despite chemotherapy and radiation, the patient’s cancer continued to rapidly progress, gradually paralyzing his body and, sadly, ultimately ending his life. The man maintained his Irish-sounding accent until the very end.

    https://casereports.bmj.com/content/16/1/e251655

    How to speak Irish in 5 seconds:
    Whale
    Oil
    Beef
    Hooked
    🤣

    60

    • #
      David Maddison

      On the subject of prostate cancer, Ivermectin seems to be beneficial.

      Good luck getting what the Left call “horse dewormer” further researched, however.

      https://www.nature.com/articles/s41419-022-05182-0

      Conclusion
      In summary, our results indicate that ivermectin suppressed the AR and E2F signaling pathways and DNA damage repair capacity by targeting FOXA1 and Ku70/Ku80 to inhibit cell proliferation and promote cell apoptosis in prostate cancer. These findings provide insight into both the effects and mechanisms of ivermectin as an anticancer agent. This raises the possibility of broadening the clinical evaluation of ivermectin for the treatment of prostate cancer.

      90

    • #
      yarpos

      A work friend of mine (mad AFL fan) went to a Gaelic Football game at Croke Park Dublin. The place was crush packed with people when the game started. He thought it was hilarious whenever the home team made an error there was an enormous cry of “FOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!!!” from the crowd.

      50

      • #
        Hanrahan

        Back in the days when even women and girls weren’t so thin skinned, there was an Irish lad working in Mrs H’s accountancy office, large for a provincial city, and the Xmas gift giving wasn’t always PC, [How could it, the term hadn’t been invented?] and Sean’s gift was soap on a rope.

        20

        • #
          Earl

          Two cloister creepers in the communal shower. One says “wears the soap”. Other says “It does doesn’t it”.

          10

    • #
    • #
  • #
    John Connor II

    Some earthquakes last for seconds, others for minutes — and a few for decades

    Earthquakes can last for minutes and even longer. Some slow-slip events, which may be related to earthquakes, can even last decades. What causes an earthquake to last so long?

    In 2004, a 9.1 to 9.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Releasing as much energy as a 100-gigaton bomb, the quake was felt around the world. A quarter of a million people perished or went missing in the tsunami that followed. Not only was it one of the strongest earthquakes recorded since the invention of the seismograph, but it was also one of the longest, at 10 minutes of shaking.

    The 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile was the strongest ever recorded, with a magnitude from 9.4 to 9.6. The fault that ruptured was anywhere from 500 to 1,000 km long, and the resulting earthquake left about 2 million people homeless.

    Both of these were what is called megathrust earthquakes, and they happen when one tectonic plate slips under another. As one plate sinks, sometimes it gets stuck. Tension builds as the plates accumulate energy. Eventually, this tension is released. The subducting plate jolts forward as the upper plate is forced upward in a powerful megathrust. These are the world’s most powerful earthquakes, and unfortunately, they are often some of the longest as well.

    As a general rule, the size and duration of an earthquake depend on the length of the fault that slips. When an earthquake begins, we do not necessarily know how big it will be or how long it will last, because the slippage still has to propagate down the fault.

    https://bigthink.com/hard-science/some-earthquakes-last-for-seconds-others-for-minutes-and-a-few-for-decades/

    The quake in Turkey caused by slip plate action at the Anatolian/Arabian junction is the biggest in 50 years.
    Will there be a “counter action” soon?
    West coast USA?

    30

  • #
    David Maddison

    The covid vaxxes tend to kill younger people, but what is the evidence for injury in more elderly people who the fifth shots are being pushed upon now?

    If someone has survived the first four shots is it likely they’ll survive a fifth?

    112

    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      Mortality isn’t the only potential harm David. There is growing evidence of immune system impairment worsening with each booster.

      170

      • #
        TdeF

        Which is what you would expect. Along with a whole raft of autoimmune diseases which come from keeping your immune system under stress for such a long time.

        30

  • #
    John Connor II

    Woke Church Of England To Consider “Gender-Neutral” God

    The woke left has infected Christianity. Prominent forces within the Church of England want to abandon the Gospel in favor of referring to God in a “gender-neutral” manner.

    The Bible since it was first written has primarily used male pronouns when referring to God. But this does not mean that God is male, however.

    Unlike humanity, God does not have a biological sex for He is not made of matter. In fact, no one actually knows what God looks like.

    Basic theology remains a foreign concept to woke forces, however, including those within the Church.

    However, the Rev Ian Paul, a member of the General Synod and the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, warned against any departure from the original scriptures, saying: “The use of male pronouns for God should not be understood as implying that God is male – which is a heresy. God is not sexed, unlike humanity.

    “The Bible uses feminine imagery and metaphors of God, but primarily identifies God using masculine pronouns, names, and imagery. Male and female imagery is not interchangeable.

    http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2023/02/woke-church-of-england-to-consider.html

    The invisible sky creature is getting annoyed at this woke shart.😁

    20

    • #
      Leo G

      The Bible since it was first written has primarily used male pronouns when referring to God. But this does not mean that God is male, however.

      Indeed. Hebrew is a binary-gendered language. Gender-neutral is un-Hebrew.

      However, grammatical gender is entirely arbitrary and does not necessarily reflect an individual’s gender identity.

      God is gendered male but God’s presence is gendered female.

      Genesis 1:26 and 1:27 has God creating beasts of the earth and man in the image of male and female non-creator “gods” from the pantheon of Canaanite gods, though the term is grammatically male whether singular or plural.

      30

    • #
      Honk R Smith

      Male/female parts are for RE-production.
      Godness would require Production attributes.
      I think the Old Testament is Production.
      The new Testament required RE-production via a birthing person.
      Not accomplished in the fashion currently understood.
      Perhaps the emergent Science of Gender will unexpectedly answer a fundamental Christian theological question.

      20

      • #
        Leo G

        I think the Old Testament is Production.
        The new Testament required RE-production via a birthing person.

        The OT’s Adam and Eve went into the fig leaf business with their eyes open.

        The theological question does seem to me not a production problem as much as a marketing one. Adam was tasked with naming every living beast before being properly educated about certain matters and subsequently was reprimanded for heeding the advice of a person influenced by disinformation.

        20

      • #
        KP

        The virgin Mary was a man..

        Next on the list.

        00

    • #
      Lawrie

      When Jesus, who should know, was asked how to pray He started with “Our Father who art in heaven”.

      20

  • #
    David Maddison

    UK bans wood burning in certain zones.

    Np doubt the ban will be extended in future.

    Make them freeze in the dark!

    https://youtu.be/yTy4qo6Pftg

    61

  • #
    Graeme No.3

    Odd and not supposed to happen.

    FTX the bankrupt scheme of Sam Bankman Fried (now living at his parents home in California after someone put up $250 million BAIL) has adminstrators who have asked for all donations be returned – apparently there is a rule that all donations made within 90 days of bankruptcy can be recalled.
    Of course the bankruptcy Administrators would like to recover the missing $32,000 million. Whether they can recover the large donations to the Democratic Party and others in the Administration would depend on unravelling donations to Ukraine which were (partially) returned to those in Washington is unlikely to happen – at least in this Administration.

    80

  • #
    another ian

    Courier Mail on line heading just now –

    “Biden vows “If China threatens we will act”.

    Par for the course I guess?

    30

    • #
      Honk R Smith

      I thought he was already acting.

      60

      • #
        TdeF

        No, he’s just having real trouble reading the teleprompter and just mumbles the longer words to cover up. Anyone who says ‘end of message’ is reading without comprehension.

        30

  • #
    yarpos

    Dunk Island, remember it from years ago. One of many QLD island resorts to fall into disuse and decay.

    “The resort is on private land and was purchased in 2012 by mining and energy executive Peter Bond, then by Annie Cannon-Brookes, wife of Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, in 2022.

    There’s now hope for an exclusive redevelopment on the island.” from real estate section of News

    So, Cannon-Brookes cant be to concerned about unprecedented, accelerated sea level rise or increasing cyclones then I guess. Just another coastal climate alarmist. Going to be slow going sailing all the tradies and materials out to the island.

    100

  • #
    another ian

    “Sounds sustainable”

    “It took 10,144,035 tons of Coal, 50,084,600 tons of Quartz, 11,271,150 tons of Charcoal and 5,635,575 tons of Woodchips to build this 345 acre 196,320 panel solar field in China, and that’s just the metallurgical-grade silicon, not any copper, steels or plastics.”

    More at

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2023/02/08/sounds-sustainable/

    40

  • #
    Hanrahan

    Dr Chris Martensen on Vit D3.

    Nothing new here for the denizens of this august blog but still interesting on how trials are designed to fail:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5MqkbFt2sU

    20

    • #
      David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

      Thanks H,
      I liked his analysis that the NIH study was “designed to fail”, but still came out supporting vitamin D.
      In my view, what he described is criminal behaviour, resulting in numerous deaths.
      Well worth the 22 mins, for the recap of some history and his comments on how hard it is to overdose.
      Cheers
      Dave B

      00

  • #
    Graeme#4

    Federal Government agencies have revealed that around 913 cameras supplied by Chinese companies, are being used for surveillance in govermnent buildings across 230 sites. The companies are part-owned by the Chinese government, and are subject to the Chinese National Intelligence Law 2017, which requires them to co-operate with Chinese intelligence agencies if requested to hand over data.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/chinese-security-cameras-in-our-halls-of-power/news-story/b316e70c7f2d4702dfda77b87936834e
    (Behind paywall)

    20

  • #
    RobB

    Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersch reports on how the Americans blew up Nordstream pipelines:

    https://open.substack.com/pub/seymourhersh/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream?r=p4u0a&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

    60

  • #

    Scientists Take Australian Bureau
    of Meteorology to Court Over
    Disputed Temperature Records

    For years, Australian biologist Jennifer Marohasy has questioned the
    reliability of the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BoM) historical weather records,
    which have shown a significant rise in temperatures over the past few
    decades.
    By Nina Nguyen
    February 7, 2023 Updated: February 8, 2023   Print

    The BoM has attributed record-breaking temperatures to manmade global
    warming, but Marohasy is sceptical saying some recent warming could be
    attributed to natural weather patterns.
    In response, her husband, environmental researcher John Abbott, took the
    matter to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Brisbane with Marohasy
    appearing as an expert witness. They called for the BoM to make raw
    temperature data public, something the weather bureau has refused
    previously.

    A public hearing was held on Feb. 3, but the case was taken back to
    mediation before Marohasy presented her evidence. Further, the public was
    asked to leave. The case was set to resume on Tuesday

    file:///C:/Users/andic/Downloads/Scientists%20Take%20Australian%20Bureau%20of%20Meteorology%20to%20Court%20Over%20Disputed%20Temperat.pdf

    50

  • #
    another ian

    From yesterday around the US SOTU

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1623061882746679296

    Seems the balloon didn’t make it to the performance.

    Must have been declared an “assault balloon” and confiscated

    20

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW!

    “Dr. Anthony Fauci now admits the mRNA Covid vaccines hardly work and might not be approvable
    In fact, a bombshell paper he co-authored last month suggests ALL vaccines for common respiratory viruses may face intractable hurdles. And that’s not even the worst news. I’m not exaggerating”

    https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/dr-anthony-fauci-now-admits-the-mrna

    Via Chiefio

    40

    • #
      another ian

      “Safe and Effective®”

      “Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries faced short-term fertility declines in 2020 and 2021, a development which did not materialize in Scandinavian and German-speaking countries. However, more recent birth statistics show a steep fertility decline in the aftermath of the pandemic in 2022. We aim to provide data on the unexpected birth decline in 2022 in Germany and Sweden and relate these data to pandemic-related contextual developments which could have influenced the post-pandemic fertility development. We rely on monthly birth statistics and present seasonally adjusted monthly Total Fertility Rates (TFR) for Germany and Sweden. We relate the nine-months lagged fertility rates to contextual developments regarding COVID-19 mortality and morbidity, unemployment rates, and COVID-19 vaccinations.”

      More at

      http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2023/02/08/safe-and-effective-116/

      10

    • #

      Understandable considering that the upper respiratory nose, mouth and throat have an independent immune sytem, resp. the vaccine induced antobodies doesn’t act in these organs.

      20

  • #
  • #
    another ian

    “Breezes and Sunshine to charge Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s EV’s”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/02/08/breezes-and-sunshine-to-charge-washington-governor-jay-inslees-evs/

    00

  • #
    el+gordo

    Heatwaves coming in the next two weeks and it’ll be widespread.

    ‘ … the convection phase of Madden Julian oscillation (MJO) to the north of Australia is forecast to shift eastward the next 1-2 weeks inducing a west to southwest wind across much of the continent and cause extreme heat risk beginning across Western Australia in the near-term and expanding across the southern tier of Australia in the 8-14-day period.

    ‘Maximum temperatures exceed 43C across mainly central and northern Western Australia into early next week with 43-46C shifting across the southern third of Australia in the 8-14-day outlook.’ (Climate Impact Company)

    00

  • #
    Paul Callander

    Have seen a ridiculous article on ABC News discussing variable rainfall across Canberra.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-09/are-some-canberra-suburbs-wetter-than-others/101947620
    Supposedly data show variation but “Science” says not because weather systems are larger than the total area of Canberra. No acknowledgement of internal variability within those systems.
    The article only addresses rain shadows.
    But note that the first photo shows how small rain events can be directly contradicting the thrust of the article.

    10

    • #
      Gee Aye

      Are you the manuka honey guy?

      Agree about the article. It goes nowhere. There might be variation but some arm waving scienctist says no, sort of.

      00

    • #
      another ian

      “Science” never heard a friend’s expression of “a storm you could put your hat over” then.

      00

  • #

    Heatwaves? This is normal hot weather for the Pilbara. 45-49C every day. Early 80’s never saw a 50C, but often it didn’t miss by much. 43-44C was a cool day. 38C you’re pulling a jumper on.

    10