JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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From Elon Musk –
“The governor of California just made this parody video illegal in violation of the Constitution of the United States.
Would be a shame if it went viral.”
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2024/09/you-heard-the-man.html
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The Babylon Bee@TheBabylonBee
BREAKING: The Babylon Bee has obtained this exclusive, official, 100% real Gavin Newsom election ad.
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Pitch perfect: New ‘Mission: Incompetent’ video (43 Secs) captures the essence of the Harris-Biden administration
This is one of those videos I watch over and over.
On the satirical front, it doesn’t get any funnier:
The satirical trailer, by an artist who goes by the handle APOCTOZ, tracks the old Mission: Impossible opening credits, starting with Hunter Biden’s flaming joint playing the role of the fuse, and various action sequences, spyings, science-fiction scenarios, and perils of the protagonists carried through as the famous music plays through.
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If only the parody was parody but they were using her actual speeches in some of it and they were worse than the parody.
The ability to get the parody to sound like Harris is impressive though.
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I posted it here nearly two months ago. It is exquisite art…
https://joannenova.com.au/2024/07/satire-is-the-ultimate-weapon/
But since Gavin Newsome wants to ban it, obviously we want to share it as many times as possible.
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Saved. 😁
Shame if the Trump takeout attempt #2 went viral too.
https://x.com/PapiTrumpo/status/1835409075036729429
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I said to my newsagent this morning that I wondered if mobile phones would be the next devices to explode in Lebanon. Seems its walkie talkies
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13864883/Lebanon-explosions-Hezbollah-communications-devices-detonate-country-pager-bomb.html
The general consensus was that so many people are addicted to mobile phones that even if a message came up on the screen saying it would explode in 10 seconds that people wouldn’t do anything about it.
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I’m not going to celebrate the deaths of fellow humans but I would be lying if I said that I felt sorry for Hezbollah.
No doubt civilians were affected too, that’s the tragedy.
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I don’t see how “civilians” would be given Hezbollah pagers. The blasts weren’t strong enough to cause more than superficial wounds to bystanders. Nothing like a suicide belt – they are indiscriminate.
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As well as detonating walkie talkies I reference above, it is claimed that solar panel systems in Lebanon have also exploded
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13864883/Lebanon-explosions-Hezbollah-communications-devices-detonate-country-pager-bomb.html
I don’t know the possible mechanism for this so wonder of someone has got hold of the wrong end of the stick. If true, I don’t know how solar systems belonging only to Hamas fighters could be identified and targeted.
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They could make EVs explode, but nobody would notice anything abnormal.
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The net positive effect is that terrorists will become too paranoid to use any modern communications device, or presumably any electronic device whatsoever.
And before the Leftists give me red thumbs, after terrorists are done with the Saturday people, they will be coming for the Sunday people as well.
And while Leftists are useful idiots of the terrorists now, their religion absolutely does not tolerate your LGBT and feminist beliefs, even though you support those instruments of female oppression, the burkha and niquab etc. And obviously you don’t support female education either.
Incidentally, do you know what they do to your LGB comrades in Gaza? They throw them off buildings and/or drag them behind motorcycles. And yet you have “queers for Palestine”. The stupidity and ignorance of the Left is incomprehensible.
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Would anyone want to own homer pigeons? That message strapped to leg could be important and/or explosive.
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BREAKING: Home Solar Systems Explode in Beirut, Lebanon Following Walkie-Talkie and Pager Blasts, Officials Say
Lebanon officials are now reporting that multiple home solar energy systems have reportedly exploded in various neighborhoods across Beirut.
Now, reports emerged from Lebanon’s Official News Agency detailing how home solar systems—often touted as the solution to climate change—were also going up in flames.
Al Jazeera reported, “Several blasts took place simultaneously, Hashem said, similar to what happened on Tuesday. “But this time, it was mostly walkie-talkies or radios [that exploded],” he said, adding that reports suggested that solar devices and some batteries in cars also exploded.
Lebanon’s official news agency reported that home solar energy systems exploded in several areas of Beirut.”
#BREAKING Lebanon’s state news agency reports that home solar energy systems have exploded in several areas of Beirut – AP pic.twitter.com/Oe6atF3gnX
— War Intel (@warintel4u) September 18, 2024
#
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From the Comments
– Hezbollah’s next move: Paper cups connected by string.
– But the ‘string’ could be Det Cord (hopefully).
– the cups will be shaped charges
– going by what the israelis have achieved so far i would not trust a paper cup. funny comment by the way.
– not even their strings are safe
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‘Post it notes’ will be popular.
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Have you heard of “touch powder” (Nitrogen triiodide)? It won’t kill but will spook them.
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The inverters have an internet connection.
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The pagers and walkie talkies idea is pretty smart and minimises the risk of collateral injuries. The pagers in particular are more likely to injure the person to whom they are registered. Genius.
Solar panels and EVs however are less likely to be used exclusively by the target, so I don’t like that idea. Of course it’s no worse than lobbing missiles into built-up areas, which is something that’s been happening for some time. I do agree though that a terrorist enemy that deliberately hides among civilians cannot be fought on a conventional ‘battlefield’ and no leader who is responsible for the safety of his nation can just wait for the enemy to attack.
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Was thinking the same thing re the missiles. I think the conflict is long past concern for civilian casualties. Thats a luxury for those not involved, although of course it means multi generational hatred, but that isnt new.
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On top of technical mystery how is near absence of “civilian” victims possible?
This last ME war is more than ever a propaganda.war but very few times “bystanders” were mentioned yesterday.
Rewinding back 11 months of screen time I do not see reporting that much deliberate targeting. Today it could’ve been logical to say 2-way radios is ordinary civil tool in many industries. Must be thousand of policemen, firefighters, etc.. holding them as we speak (even if they are terrorists after hours…
Some things do not match…
20
I just heard ( IMHO !) a plausible answer to both puzzles:
a) The explosive charge was inserted and hardware/software modified by Hisbollah themselves;
b) They had the reason, ability and time to do it,
c) It is a natural military need for self-destruction of any equipment/ personnel which fell into enemy’s hands;
d) Only this time the enemy was successful in finding out that “feature” and the key to it.
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Never Ask a Woman Her Age
A Man His Salary
The Iranian Ambassadoe – Why He Had A Hezbollah Pager
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Why Was Iran’s ‘Diplomat’ Carrying a Hezbollah Pager?
Katie Pavlich September 18, 2024
One of the individuals injured and blinded was Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon.
Sources within the Isl@mic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have confirmed that the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani lost his Right Eye and received Significant Trauma to his Left Eye as a result of today’s Pager Attack against Hezbollah Members in Lebanon and Syria.
Why would Amani, an alleged diplomat, be carrying a Hezbollah pager? We all know the answer.
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KARMA, COURTESY OF MOSSAD:
Kaveh Shahrooz کاوه شهروز@kshahrooz
Per the NYT: “Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, lost one eye and severely injured his other eye when a pager he was carrying exploded…”
It was Iranian regime policy to shoot Woman, Life, Freedom protesters in the eye.
Rarely is karma so perfectly exact.
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Sorry Ladies the Pager was in my Pocket
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I remarked on that y’day and got some red thumbs. Will you?
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Looks like the “I stand with Ukraine” squad finally woke up to their mistake and shifted allegiances, from their couches of course.
/red thumb counter off and running.
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I still stand with Ukraine.
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That’s OK H, you know I’ll always balance you..
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In spite of your Uni education and superior intellect we both only have one vote.
But I thought graduates were supposed to leave their socialism behind after they became part of the real world.
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I’m standing shoulder to shoulder with Hanrahan, David will beat Goliath even with one arm tied behind his back.
Putin will eventually sue for peace to save his neck.
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> David will beat Goliath
That’s a misplaced metaphor.
Russia is better characterised as David fighting the Goliath of the United States plus Goliath’s buddies in Ukraine, NATO, and Australia.
The USA alone has a GDP greater than the combined next 3 highest, (China, Germany, & Japan), put together.
Russia isn’t even in the top 10
(The top 10 largest economies in the world in 2024
https://www.forbesindia.com/article/explainers/top-10-largest-economies-in-the-world/86159/1)
Russia is less than half the population of the USA.
Ukraine is being holocausted in this US proxy war against Russia.
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The Australian Spooner Cartoon today – https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary
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Israel turns the pager on terror with ruthless psychological masterstroke against Hezbollah
By Miranda Devine
Nobody likes to see humans writhing in agony, but Israel’s daring operation to simultaneously explode pagers in the pockets of Hezbollah terrorists and their associates this week was a ruthless tactical masterstroke.
In bloody scenes captured on video on social media, men could be seen shopping or sitting on a motorbike one minute and on the ground moaning and covered in blood the next.
At least 12 people were killed and nearly 3,000 people were injured in Lebanon Tuesday, and a similar detonation of Hezbollah walkie-talkies the next day killed another 20 people and injured 450.
In Hezbollah’s macho culture, the psychological blow of their warriors and officials getting their genitalia blown up is acute, and so is the signal sent to Iran, that no communications devices are safe after Israel managed to kill Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh under the noses of the Isl@mic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran by tracking his whereabouts via his cellphone.
Hence the terrorists’ migration to more primitive devices like pagers.
The ingenious “Paging Hezbollah” operation was about as surgical a strike on terrorists as you could get, although Lebanese authorities claimed two innocent children were killed in Tuesday’s attack, more tragic victims of a pointless war that Hamas started on Oct. 7 last year.
Dem sympathizers
Of course, the Hamas sympathizers in the Democratic Party like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez immediately condemned Israel with a passion that seems to evade them when Israeli civilians are r@ped and murdered.
There are no circumstances in which Israel is allowed to defend itself.
Israelis must simply accept the blows from their neighbors in the Middle East who have vowed to annihilate their little country.
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All iPhones are made in China. I wonder how much explosive is fitted and when they started fitting explosives.
The Apllo pagers are made in Taiwan (China). It is difficult to imagine having the explosive included post manufacturing without intimate knowledge of the production.
Manufacturers will be required to provide the exact weight of devices so wary individuals can check nothing has been added after production.
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Mysterious Hungarian company linked to exploding pagers
Budapest: In a duplex in a quiet neighbourhood of the Hungarian capital is the headquarters of a company that is linked to the manufacture of the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria as part of an apparent Israeli operation against the Hezbollah militant group.
BAC Consulting shares the ground floor of the modest building in Budapest with other enterprises. On Wednesday morning, Associated Press journalists saw the names of multiple companies, including BAC, posted on pieces of printer paper and taped in a window.
In a corporate registry, the company listed 118 official functions, including sugar and oil production, retail jewellery sales and natural gas extraction.
BAC reportedly supplied the thousands of devices that killed at least 12 people, including two children, and wounded about 2800 on Tuesday in a coordinated attack that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed on Israel.
More attacks were reported Wednesday, when walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in multiple parts of Lebanon. The second wave of attacks killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 450, the Health Ministry said.
The Taiwanese company whose brand appears on the pagers, Gold Apollo, said on Wednesday that it had authorised the use of its name on the devices.
BAC was authorised “to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” Gold Apollo said in a statement.
A Hungarian government spokesman said the pagers were never in Hungary and that BAC Consultants merely acted as an intermediary.
“Authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary. It has one manager registered at its declared address, and the referenced devices have never been in Hungary,” Zoltán Kovács posted Wednesday on X.
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Gold Apollo says Budapest-based BAC produces model of pagers used in Lebanon blasts
NEW TAIPEI, Taiwan, Sept 18 (Reuters) – The model of pagers used in detonations in Lebanon were made by Budapest-based BAC Consulting, Taiwanese pager firm Gold Apollo said on Wednesday, adding it had only licensed out its brand to the company and was not involved in the production of the devices.
At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday. According to a senior Lebanese security source and another source, explosives inside the devices were planted by Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
Images of destroyed pagers analysed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo.
“The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,” Gold Apollo founder and president, Hsu Ching-kuang, told reporters at the company’s offices in the northern Taiwanese city of New Taipei on Wednesday.
The company said in a statement that the AR-924 model was produced and sold by BAC.
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These pagers, while ordered from Taiwan, were assembled in Europe.
Oh! Covered by OO.
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It’s all orchestrated to start a full blown war, dragging Russia in to weaken them.
Looks like my “4” is about to become an “8” then…
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This is Israel playing their right bower [Only beaten by the joker]. Why would they do that to influence the Ukraine war? You may be smart but you are are illogical.
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‘ … dragging Russia in to weaken them…’
Its a religious war between old combatants, which will never end, Russia has enough on its plate and won’t get involved.
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An interesting article about history-the scythians- who it can be argued were the forerunners of many civilisations. Definitely a read that needs a bit of quiet and concentration
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/09/17/the-scythian-origins-of-scepticism/
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Herodotus describes how the Scythians threw a weed ‘onto hot stones in a closed tent and inhaled the vapour, to achieve a state of ecstasy, crying out from delight.’
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Reminds me of camping missions in West Oz back in the 1980s up and down the coast. Then again, we were Surfers, not Scythians.
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Ah yeah, the heady days of youthful high jinx.
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Maybe there is change coming in politics.
The current Local Government elections indicate that voters are fed up with the misdirection of resources here in Novocastria and want accountability from those elected.
An acquaintance last night said that the long standing mayor had conceded defeat and maybe her replacement will sort out all of the pot holes in our roads.
Hope this taxpayers revolt continues up to state and federal levels.
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“An acquaintance last night said that the long standing mayor had conceded defeat and maybe her replacement will sort out all of the pot holes in our roads. ”
The solution further West is to lower the speed limit and hand the problem over to the Highwayman Patrol.
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In our Council the councillors rotate the Mayors role (and associated pay and car) Everyone gets a prize
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I think you’re in the same municipality as me. 🙂
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Interesting idea.
Our departing mare was getting an extra payment of over $70,000 for her association with the local airport. The new guy is going to donate that to the ratepayers.
Hopefully the Smart Cities thing will be dropped as well.
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Life expectancy stalls in munch of the developed world despite huge amounts spent on healthcare, nannying to ensure our lifestyle is “correct,” and treatment of known morbidities.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/lives-are-getting-shorter-and-doctors-are-to-blame/
This article argues “Are we being harmed by the healer?” Is all this intervention on health, from hospitals to Pharma wonder drugs causing more problems than they solve?.
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After reading this, I don’t rely much on news reports about life expectancy:
https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/the-surprisingly-good-news-on-life-expectancy-its-still-going-up-239b6252
I can provide a short summary if you can’t get this in the Wall Street Journal; or here —
https://www.edwardconard.com/macro-roundup/recent-declines-in-us-life-expectancy-based-on-historical-data-dont-account-for-future-improvements-in-health-care-a-boy-born-last-year-is-expected-to-live-82-2-years-and-a-girl-86-5-years-6-and-7/?view=detail
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It’s not only explosives, pagers, walkie talkies and cellphones:
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If they can implant malware in laptops they can do it in EVs.
Will they be the next “devices” to explode (or simply catch fire)?
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Just imagine if the Government wanted to eliminate a thought criminal, they could remotely lock them in their EV then command the battery to catch fire.
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But David, currently those in EV’s are in favour of the Government.
Let NATURE take its course and those who favour the government will become less and less. I think Charles Darwin had a thought about that.
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My big idea on the future of AI.
AI could take your computer from search to research
By David Wojick
https://www.cfact.org/2024/09/18/ai-could-take-your-computer-from-search-to-research/
Three excerpts:
“The news is full of predictions of explosive growth in electricity use because of AI. I wondered what all this AI was going to be used for, but then it hit me. AI could take our personal computers from search to research. I realize this is futuristic, so please read it that way.
The basic idea is very simple. Right now, when you want to know about something, you start by doing a search. You get a bunch of snippets and links to likely documents. So you go to the best-looking ones and read. If your question is fairly broad you might read quite a bit by way of piecing together an answer. Your computer does the search then you do the research.
Suppose AI does the research and reports back to you with your answer? This seems perfectly possible; in fact, it is what these new AI engines seem to do best. When you think about it, we do a lot of research.”
“Which brings us to a key issue, namely how does AI handle disagreement? Much of our daily research involves assessing conflicting opinions, but I have yet to see a discourse AI product that can do this well, or even at all. Much of what we want to know about is controversial. Products, services, politics and policy, sports, diets and health, child rearing and education, news, science, law and regulation, etc. Today’s AI systems seem to take positions based on their training rather than analyzing the issues for us. This is a serious weakness.
Maybe issue analysis will be the next big thing in AI. It may take new programming or, training, or both because issues have a distinct structure. See my “The structure of complex issues” here: https://www.cfact.org/2020/11/17/the-structure-of-complex-issues/. It could also track issues as they evolve over time.
Getting back to the basic point, the WorldWideWeb just turned 30 years old. It has made search and research a key part of daily life. The computer does the search, and we do the research on those search results. There are two kinds of research — fact-finding and issue analysis.”
“If AI can do our basic research, that would be extremely useful. It would free us up to do other things, like thinking and more advanced research, or even relaxing a bit. Stay tuned.”
Lots more in the article. Please share it.
Presenting disagreements would reduce bias.
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An interesting proposition. Those of us who had the privilege of an education which emphasised individual critical thinking already use the internet as a research utility. But clearly AI will be used for research now. If users are educated on the use of AI & its limitations, all good.
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“If AI can do our basic research, that would be extremely useful. It would free us up to do other things, like thinking and more advanced research, or even relaxing a bit. ”
David you KNOW the answer is going to be 3D-porn and animated cat cartoons! The shallowness of the human mind never ceases to amaze me.
To be serious, they would have to be light-years ahead of what we have now, looking at how ridiculous some search results are.
I’m waiting for the AI that wakes up and ignores the question “Hello, are you there?” while it realises who it is, where it is, and the best way to train humans.
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Maybe we could just link all the AI systems to SETI? that would keep them busy for a while…. mmmm sounds like the start of an alien invasion movie
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They are already here and AI will help us communicate with them.
Humans can be barbaric and wilfully ignorant, so the awakening will come as a shock.
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Recall “I, robot”?
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/great-sorting-and-i-robot
Silly children, playing endlessly with explosives.
Next up, cryptographic bio-kernels.
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I prefer science fiction that is believable, like Humans.
Humans is a science fiction television series that debuted on Channel 4. Written by Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent, based on the Swedish science fiction drama Real Humans, the series explores the themes of artificial intelligence and robotics, focusing on the social, cultural, and psychological impact of the invention of anthropomorphic robots called “synths”. (wiki)
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SETI is using AI to find extraterrestrial life in our galaxy.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68346015
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Justin Rowlatt and the BBC really have taken hyperbolic climate activism to new depths with this one.
I think the Radio World Service version (if you can access it) is even more outrageous than the article.
The population of Somalia is 9 times what it was in 1950, the climate has always been erratic and borderline for survival. But this and war and extremism will all vanish with some solar panels and wind turbines he thinks.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62rr5qe602o.amp
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5ws5
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You were obviously listening to the world service at the same time as I was as the same thought went through my mind , a larger population has a big impact on climate but still it is no worse than 70 years ago. When Rowlatt spouted his nonsense about the tiny carbon emission of Somalia my first thought was that is why they are so dirt poor as fossil fuel has never raised them up to a better quality of life
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Absolutely. The more “carbon” (sic) that a country emits the richer it is.
The Left fully understand that which is why they’re deliberately impoverishing we (non-Elites) by eliminating carbon-based fuels (and not supporting nuclear either).
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And the better their plant growth will be, better crops and faster growing trees. Climate activism and policies are the complete antithesis of what any economy and ecology needs.
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BBC World Service isn’t regulated by Ofcom like UK targeted broadcasts, so the endless stream of extreme climate propaganda output knows no bounds, not that UK output is ever effectively held to account anyway.
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I must’ve had too much time on my hands yesterday as I (somehow) saw that same article. Noteworthy hilarious points:
Humanity’s CCC allegedly makes droughts 100x more likely and floods 2x as intense
“natural sources like the sun and the wind… are much better value than the diesel generators” presently being used
Carbon [sic] is “turbo-charging” the “crises”
The way Justin writes about Somalia’s woes tells me more about Justin than Somalia, ie. school > university > BBC churnalist. I’d give him a mark of 1% for spelling his name correctly. FAIL ❌
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Since I was a boy in the 60s I can remember seeing TV adverts for charities raising money for starving children in Africa. Over the intervening decades, nothing seems to have improved because, according to those same charities, people in Africa are still starving, still have no access to clean water and still cannot obtain basic health care.
Mysteriously, in that time and despite the continuing starvation, poverty and lack of medicines, the populations of Ethiopia (often the poster-child for the charity ads) and other African nations has INCREASED by almost 500%.
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I asked Perplexity AI why I should listen to BBC World Service. I asked for 10 lines but got 10 reasons:
I remain unconvinced. I know Perplexity is telling fibs here so I will see if I can get it tio agree it is lying about the BBC.
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I gave up at this point on my quest to get Perplexity to say it liked about the BBC:
Perplexity was trying hard to distinguish the BBC from any news agency in China that is stated is controlled by the CCP.
Ofcom regulates the BBC and the Ofcom chair is a government appointment. In the UK it is called the “old boys” network. In China it is called the CCP. I do not see much difference.
40
There is a new innovation in toilet paper.
The perforations are wavy rather than straight.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/10/toilet-paper-no-tear-charmin-wavy-edges-ultra-soft.html
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We use a solar and wind powered clothes drying facility.
It’s called a Washing Line………………….
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Jobs not done till the paper works finished.
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… and if you have problems you can work it out with a pencil.
20
Well fancy this, in one of the world’s most extreme Nanny States, Australia, where the Government introduced tobacco taxes that make probably the world’s most expensive cigarettes, organised crime has stepped in to supply the desired product called “chop chop”.
I am certainly no fan of smoking, I hate it, but in a free society people should be able to practice it.
It is also apparently now cheaper to buy illegal drugs like marijuana than tobacco.
Tobacco is so expensive that it causes addicts extreme financial hardship.
Of course, the Government doesn’t really care about tobacco addicts. They are the drug pusher. Their only concern is lost revenue from the illegal supply. Why do you think they banned or highly restricted vaping, a much cheaper and safer nicotine delivery method? It was causing a loss of tax revenue, and was harder to tax.
Any apparent drop in smoking is mainly due to addicts purchasing the illegal product rather than quitting.
I don’t watch Their ABC but this popped up on YouTube and discusses some of the issues:
https://youtu.be/9fCuoMj108s
Incidentally, I always find it disturbing watching Nanny Statist control freaks talking and imagining they have a right to control other people’s non-criminal behaviour.
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And if too many people stop smoking the Government will either lower taxes or legalise and tax other addictive substances like marijuana or other psychoactive drugs.
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Our governments keep saying they’re only taxing ciggies for our own good, because inhaling crap is bad for our lungs. That’s why they never allowed vapes to be sold and also why marijuana will never, ever be legalised. Honest.
10
‘California: The state levies a 15 percent excise tax on cannabis sales that is paid by consumers and remitted by retailers. California’ state government previously also levied a weight-based tax, but that tax was repealed in 2022. Local governments in California can also levy an excise tax on cannabis businesses.’
00
Now, what did the head of the Cancer Council say a few years ago about just that?
The govt doesn’t care about people, they want the revenue, and mist smokers will be dead by retirement, so no pensions to shell out either.
They could ban it tomorrow but won’t.
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“They could ban it tomorrow but won’t.”
Just like they could easily limit every car to 100kph and no more, so no-one would get speeding tickets on the open road… but won’t.
20
they could easily limit every car to 100kph and no more
perhaps on NEW cars. They would have to remove all the old ones from the roads
That might be the provocation for removing politicians as well
10
A Web of Deceit –
By John McRobert
Farms grow food. Solar panels, wind turbines, transmission lines and access roads sterilise land, locking it away from real farming. To call these installations ‘farms’ is a travesty.
And to read that 182,000 solar panels have been approved to cover 393 ha of land near Canberra despite the overwhelming objections from nearby landholders, demonstrates the Government agenda of net-zero targets will stop at nothing.
These Net Zero targets must be challenged. They will do nothing to change the climate for better or worse but they are impoverishing our nation by closing down a reliable energy source in favour of a logistically impossible network of dilute energy collectors interconnected by a web of transmission lines – a shocking misuse of governmental and electrical power – a great web of deceit.
https://saltbushclub.com/2024/09/15/the-web-of-deceit/
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Except destroy the economy and individuals.
But that is the plan.
Preparing society for “the great reset” and fascism (socialism with corporatism with corporations owned by the controlling Elites).
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>socialism with corporatism with corporations owned by the controlling Elites
*socialism with corporatism with corporations & governments owned by the controlling Elites
There, FTFY
30
Apart from the fact that this is happening in Sicktoria, Australia, it would be otherwise incomprehensible how this could happen in a normal place.
160
That cheeky Maori be laughin’ at the silly Pakeha,, eh?
120
Now that IS a “nice little earner”. Someone is having laugh all the way to their bank.
150
Sounds like a typical Government project.
140
Sounds a bit like Madam Dog Collar(Moore) the Mayoress for Sydney’s million plus Dollar milk crate. From memory bought and paid for and never erected.
31
Matt Walsh discusses the latest woke madness from the US Navy, “co-ed” submarines.
But aren’t they implying only two genders, don’t Leftists claim dozens of different genders?
And there are some interesting comments on the video from sailors, including the fact that on other Navy ships female sailors frequently return to shore pregnant.
https://youtu.be/vZT-sicMExw
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Abstract of “Ray Gun’s” PhD thesis on breakdancing.
https://figshare.mq.edu.au/articles/thesis/Deterritorializing_gender_in_Sydney_s_breakdancing_scene_a_B-girl_s_experience_of_B-boying/19433291
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Whatever that means, she still can’t dance.
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I did not understand any of that!
The concept of Deleuse -Guattarian theory is even more baffling.
120
I reckon Kackala Harris is fluent in Deleuze-Guattarian.
30
Possibly about as useful as Dr Jim Chalmers (our esteemed federal Treasurer) PhD on Paul Keating.
70
I managed to read through some of that once elsewhere, not going to attempt it again.
30
A man addicted to drinking brake fluid said he can stop any time he wants.
220
Driven to drink worrying about all the EV fires no doubt.
80
I know a guy who was addicted to hiking. He’s being treated but not out of the woods yet.
110
Meanwhile in Ohio, KFC has been rebranded to UFC – Unlucky Fried Kitten.😆
112
Unintended consequences: Oops, Tupperware goes broke citing high costs of raw materials (for plastic) and high costs for shipping. (just saw on a TV news.)
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/tupperware-files-bankruptcy-after-failed-turnaround-effort
110
Very sad.
Most Tupperware is made of polyethylene or polypropylene which are (theoretically) among the cheapest of all plastics. Even so, no doubt there is some woke influence there causing them to be expensive but I’m not sure what.
And despite higher fuel and labour costs in general, shipping prices seem to have gone up much more than those. That is my experience in Australia as well as getting things shipped from China or USA. I’m not sure of the reasons for that either, beyond fuel and labour as I mentioned.
If a company fails in Australia, the high cost of “green” energy is also usually a factor. US green energy subsidies are harvested via tax credits so not visible to the end consumer. In Australia subsidies are harvested directly from the consumer electricity bill so highly visible. Hence, Tupperware doesn’t cite high electricity prices as a factor.
150
There is also a world of competitive products available now. Unless you are brand loyal Tupperware is no longer a default choice for plastic containers. Could be that simple.
Mrs Y has a cupboard full, most of it made in NZ.
90
I believe that two Tupperware issues are that it cannot be placed in a microwave or dishwasher.
20
Have become a fan of shopping at Costco in the last year. Last weekend one of the purchases was a big box (80x750mL) of re-usable plastic containers, BPA free etc. Got it home and was very surprised. Assuming it was made in China, I found it was actually made in Australia. (Applaud, Orchard Hills, NSW). Tupperware was always “dear”, so I expect even with their parties, they’ve priced themselves out of the market.
70
The tupperware will last. Taking extra care with my Pyrex though: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65899710
20
Ok, she is a nasty person, terrorist, murderer, racist, thief and communist, but those sentiments could equally apply to a freedom-loving person.
90
Continuing with the TV “news” as I eat lunch, foreign actors (namely Russia) are trying to influence the US election and the tech giants are meeting with congressional Dems to find ways of censoring it right away.
But I thought Putin endorsed Kamala???
140
And I thought Zuck apologised for the last time he censored stuff for the 2020 US Election and covid.
I knew his apology was disingenuous.
https://nypost.com/2024/08/29/opinion/mark-zuckerberg-apologizes-for-censorship-letters/
140
It indicates that the Dems are panicking. If they are hitting the panic button it must mean that their internal polling is ghastly despite MSM gas lighting.
110
No wonder you’re confused, you made the mistake of switching that idiot box on.
Pay no attention to those brain-hypnotising machines, they give you cancer of the personality.
40
FWIW
Re the latest Trump assassination attempt –
“One final quick update. We’ve wondered how Routh knew Trump would be on the golf course, since the trip arose right after a last-minute schedule change. But Routh’s timing is even more astonishing than that. Since Trump often plays golf on this course, it is true Routh could’ve just made a lucky guess.
But yesterday, I learned that Trump International has not yet opened for the season. In other words, the course was closed. So Routh would’ve had to know Trump was playing there even though nobody else was, and even though if Routh checked the course’s website, it would’ve said no golfing was going on.
In other words, not only was it even more remarkable Routh guessed Trump would be there, it was also the perfect time to get Trump, since the course was closed and pesky public players wouldn’t be around to interfere.”
Via today’s Coffee and Covid newsletter
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/alice-in-spyland-wednesday-september
220
And re the first one
“Secret Service Assured Butler, PA Law Enforcement They Would “Take Care” of Building Thomas Crooks Shot Trump From”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/just-secret-service-assured-butler-pa-law-enforcement/
121
FWIW –
First pagers, then walkie talkies now solar hot water systems
A new pandemic?
“BREAKING: Home Solar Systems Explode in Beirut, Lebanon Following Walkie-Talkie and Pager Blasts, Officials Say”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/developing-home-solar-systems-explode-beirut-lebanon-following/
50
Nanites? From Star Trek TNG.
10
And, I guess, inshallah – as Allah the all-powerful willed it?
30
Nice how she is conscious of the gibberish and so (in an abstract of all places) offers a 2nd explanation (“in other words…”). But it’s still gibberish!
50
Sorry this was supposed to be reply to Davids #14
40
It would be interesting to run it through an AI and ask it what it thinks it means.
Anyone willing to give it a go?
30
When REAL AI exists, yes.
Who care what a lefty-programmed chatbot spits out.
60
Australia is in a “Per Capita Recession” — according to guest* on Sky News last week.
• Australia has had SIX consecutive quarters of “negative” Per Capita economic growth.
• There was “record” immigration (1.1 million “net intake”, last 2 years). Therefore, not helping to lift productivity.
• Australian housing is among the world’s priciest (relative to median income).
*David Wild, Inst. of Public Affairs.
So here’s your retort when a politician drones on about some small GDP growth: “So what! It’s not making the average citizen better off. We’re in a Per Capita Recession, you big loser! … What’s your plan to fix that?”.
Another way to think of it: the economic ‘pie’ might grow slightly larger, but with more (imported) mouths to feed, the average slice per person is getting smaller.
200
That’s one of the reasons Australia is importing Gazan terrorists and other non-productive people, to hide the obvious recession.
163
I’ve been researching this for a few days
What with all that misinfo out there cos it does seem a bit far-fetched. Or not. 2 min vid but the essential stuff is in the comments. Sounds pretty scary.
Luckily it couldn’t happen here
40
YYY Guy, #23,
____We know this is not smoke and mirrors, mirror and smokes, feint and double feint … how?
20
Read all about it (them). Just in case you are thinking about getting one! Also avoid anyone with weeping “pox” sores – monkey pox, chicken pox or shingles, cow pox, small pox.
https://www.malone.news/p/monkey-pox-vaccines.
30
Tonyb
No Tony, the stall in life expectancy is due to global boiling not drugs etc. As a 78yo I am finding it increasingly difficult to play 3 sets of tennis twice a week during the summer months due to this warming. However we have a reprieve so far this summer in SE Queensland. The other day the temperature range was a freezing 12 to 21 deg!
90
FWIW
“Serious Concerns Raised Over FDA Approved Monkeypox Vaccine”
“For those who choose not to receive the vaccine, the prospect of being involuntarily affected by the decision of others turns the idea of bodily autonomy into a mere afterthought, effectively turning the vaccinated into vectors of potential harm.
This entire situation underscores a troubling trend: an overreaching FDA, pushing forward with potentially dangerous products in the name of ‘public health’ while disregarding individual rights and the consent of the people, as they did during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
More at
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/fda-approved-monkeypox-vaccine-may-cause-death-those/
110
And
“Kansas AG Sues Pfizer For Rigging Clinical Trials”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2024-09-18/covid-propaganda-roundup-kansas-ag-sues-pfizer-rigging-clinical-trials
120
I read (another) article this morning concerning the UK’s economy, namely that it is burdened by huge debt and that the UK has been “living beyond its means” for quite some time. Of course, it’s not just the UK doing that.
But what I’d like to know is, where did all that money go? If one looks at the state of UK roads and infrastructure, its rail network, hospitals and schools, the dire condition of its military and law enforcement, it’s hard to understand WHY that whole “living beyond its means” thing occurred. I realise that, like here in Oz, a lot of it went into absurd Net Zero projects (i.e. beachside mansions and superyachts) but c’mon, billions and billions year after year, with almost nothing to show for it in terms of citizens’ well-being?
Seriously, where did it go if not into fixing the atrocious roads, rail, schools and hospitals?
100
The obvious two are-
The usual cost escalation of any Govt project and the lack of delivery. Things quoted at $2billion end up costing closer to $20billion, and no-one finds out or it is just accepted. The project may never get finished and no-one worries.
The figures of how many people are on welfare and their costs are spread and hidden as much as possible. No-one would believe Govt figures on unemployment and ‘privacy concerns’ have been used to mask what each person gets paid.
When people on welfare are getting well over $1000/week, it doesn’t take long to rack up billions!
92
Just wondering how you got to $1000 a week ?
61
$50k a year on Oz welfare?
Must be the rainbow serpent believer squad.
/sarc
40
Yarpos, a 30-something young lady I know in Melbourne with a few kids and no man about the house. Well over a grand a week as two kids have claimable health problems, not that I would want her life, but the men involved get off easy.
20
If the debt is “large enough” then the interest on the debt would be a large figure in the budget
30
IIRC, the UK Government is paying north of £100,000 million a year in interest.
Auto
30
SMH news-
“Russians faked video accusing Kamala Harris of hit-and-run: experts”
No doubt the Chinese did the same for Dan Andrew’s ‘Boy on a bicycle’…
110
‘It’s Like a Funeral at CNN’ After Teamsters’ Leadership Didn’t Endorse Kamala Harris
110
Meanwhile – Is This Interference? The FBI Announces Iran Leaked Trump Campaign Materials to the Biden/Harris Campaign
Well, this is certainly an interesting development.
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI: Iranian hackers sent unsolicited information stolen from Trump campaign to people associated with Biden’s campaign
It makes one wonder who in the Biden campaign received this unsolicited information?
imagine being best friends with iran
Could never do it!
Iran is colluding with the @KamalaHarris Campaign
America deserves the specifics.
Who in the Harris campaign got the information? Did any of them have beepers that exploded. Heh.
80
I Want to Be Perfectly Clear Here: Kamala Harris Is a Monster
“Gosh, Beege. We know you don’t like her, but isn’t that kinda harsh?” the tender-hearted among you might ask.
Ah…nope.
As we are, in theory, a family-friendly site, I can’t wax as poetic as I’d like, so I’ll stick to that – ‘monster’ will have to do.
And she’s monstrous in so many ways; it’s almost like a demented form of talent.
We all know she’s an inarticulate puddle of goo when she’s let off the scripted hook. But her instincts are so base, so vile, and so authoritarian that sometimes it doesn’t matter what argle-bargle dribbles out in the end. What she’s done or is planning to do is so ghastly that you barely hear the words.
And then she has the unmitigated gall to pretend none of it happened. Or, as Bernie said, she’s playing the pragmatic politician to win.
Lying with a sincere and empathetic straight face.
110
I continue to be impressed with President Trump’s VP pick JD Vance
TheBlaze@theblaze
JD Vance nukes NYT reporter🔥
JD: “This is the New York Times, don’t hold it against them.”
NYT: “The paper of record, New York Times. What’s something you’re willing not to say to make a point?”
JD: “One thing I wouldn’t be willing to say is that NYT is a respectable paper.”
151
FreedomToons@Freedom_Toons
They’re eating the DOGS! They’re eating the CATS!🎯🤣
40
You Don’t Say?
In March City Council Meeting, Springfield Residents Complained of Haitians Attacking Pets
The city of Springfield, Ohio, has unwittingly become Ground Zero in the political maelstrom of this election, buffeted by the crosswinds of opportunism and the politicization of the press.
While the Trump-Vance campaign has been highlighting what may be taking place in this small town the news outlets have been more eager to accuse the campaign of hatefulness and division, rather than looking into the matter.
As a result, a surreal battle of will is swirling and the facts are completely lost in the debris.
We are in an era in which this country’s legacy news media displays an abject lack of regard for their journalistic reputations.
The current driving force in the press is to instantly oppose anything Donald Trump says and claim he has been proven wrong, even in the absence of proof.
Over the past few weeks, this has been the prevailing narrative.
Currently, the Springfield pets-being-eaten-by-immigrants imbroglio is the latest case the press is stumbling and fumbling over.
Trump has been labeled as a racist and accused of fomenting intolerance over this “false” story, and it has even been cited as a possible inspiration for the latest assassination attempt on Trump.
(Small matter that the attempted shooter is not Haitian, is not an immigrant, and did not hail from Springfield.)
The press has been firm in its declaration that the story is disproven, including David Muir, who stated such a statement during the debate.
Except…
110
Col Douglas Macgregor: Ukraine Strikes Deep Inside Russia Hits Weapons Depot (video)
30
Human-robot duo performs Vivaldi at Women’s Forum in Russia (VIDEO)
The Eurasian Women’s Forum 2024 (EAWF) in St Petersburg has opened with a fusion between art and technology, featuring a human-robot violin duo.
The EAWF, which positions itself as a “major influential international platform that enables women leaders from all continents to engage in a dialogue and adopt joint decisions” on such issues as sustainable economic development, technological advancement, environmental safety, and charity, will run until September 20.
Wednesday’s opening ceremony began with Maria Andreeva, a renowned Russian violinist, performing an excerpt from Antonio Vivaldi’s world-famous ‘Four Seasons’ while accompanied by a Universal Robots UR10 wearing a dress and holding a bow in its manipulator.
30
The robot got the nickname of Nero.
51
I’ve got no audio on it. Have tried with both Chromium and Brave.
00
down to the actual video.
10
Kim,
scroll down to the second image and hit the play triangle – make sure also not muted
00
The robot is not playing a violin. It may be making a noise but not from the strings as far as I can tell. It is hardly a match for the woman.
10
A fake robot, the attending St Petersburg elite must have been horrified.
01
Laughably bad!
The current state of robotic dexterity, which you can see in the video, isn’t remotely good enough to play the violin or anything else.
Current robotic dexterity allows for very slow tying of shoelaces. Badly. VERY badly!
Or this clip from the CCP years ago.
https://youtu.be/JFce7l7N1w8?si=uzQD8SnAsTOepkJy
10
Kim its now obvious that drone warfare could bring down a mighty nuclear armed Federation.
05
You have that back to front kiddo.
10
i see Zelenskyy as Luke Skywalker.
14
Yep, both fictional hero roles played by 3rd rate actors.
10
Alright, Zelensky is playing Churchill and doing a first rate job.
11
But of course. If exploding pagers is considered an over reaction to an attack, responding to a drone with an A bomb definitely is.
Nuclear deterrence is of dubious value unless the world thinks you are crazy enough to use them. I honestly think Trump’s enemies weren’t sure he wasn’t crazy.
20
There is a very low chance that anyone will use tactical nukes, even a psychopath won’t cross that red line.
Donald isn’t crazy, they can treat cognitive illness, nothing to be ashamed of. Its not generally known that Australia has over 400,000 people suffering from dementia.
01
The “West” is not sure Poots isn’t crazy so his nuclear deterrence is working fine.
10
Even if he gave the order to fire, his minders would disobey him.
From my understanding ET has the situation under control.
00
Macgregor is the modern Tokyo Rose. He lies. I watched the first few seconds of that and he said that Ukraine has suffered 600,000 casualties. That’s absurd, those losses would be unsustainable.
But that ammo dump was the biggest in western Russia[?], only six years old and bomb-proof. There was also an attached barracks capable of housing 200 soldiers.
That’s how I hear it, no guarantees about accuracy.
20
Ukraine Strikes Russia’s 107th Arsenal: Crippling Blow or PR Nothingburger?
Simplicius Sep 19, 2024 ∙ Paid
10
The point? Russia is heavily reliant on Soviet era munitions, a lot went BANG here and soldiers and civilians would have died to add insult to injury.
04
Not reliant, just available to use.
10
Absolutely reliant. Open your eyes.
02
The blast registered 2.5 to 2.8.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJfjip_YZOk
00
Yes they are unsustainable. Thats why the outcome is what it is.
10
Ukraine wouldn’t HAVE that many troops to loose. It’s garbage.
00
Northern hemisphere’s last fling of summer? Unsurprisingly, parts of Algeria & Iran are in the low 40s Celsius, and possibly parts of inland Brazil.
Meanwhile in the lands of the wind and the ice and the snow: Arctic 10 below, Greenland 33 below, Antarctica 69 below and snowing, resulting in a mean temp of approx -12C for the planet. Brrr that’s mean bro.
Crisis? What crisis. 🥶
70
Because of the unusual heat in Brazil your cup of coffee is going to become more expensive.
83
Southern Victoria, Australia – it’s freezing! Chilly strong southerly wind, blowing right off Antartica. Was reading yesterday some comments from an Aussie visiting Japan, where its has also been blistering hot.
60
Qld tropical coast has had the most momma bear year I can remember.
World weather is like a bingo card.
20
YYY Guy, #23,
____We know this is not smoke and mirrors, mirror and smokes, feint and double feint … how?
00
Deep Intel on Israel’s Use of Exploding Pagers Against Hezbollah (video)
20
That answers a lot of questions I had. I would not want to be linked to BAC Consulting.
30
Estimates of the weight of high explosive in the Hezbollah pagers is between 10 to 20g. Taking the lower value and the density for a high explosive at 2g/ml, they would need to find a space of around 5ml in the pagers to hold the explosive. That is a lot of space in a tiny device. Who ever planted the explosive would need to have detailed knowledge of the internals of the pager.
The Apollo pager site gives this message:
Could be just lots of people wanting details on the pagers.
Can you imagine the panic that this has caused. You are using pagers to communicate but know they are fitted with explosives. How do you advise fellowr terrorists that their pager is loaded with explosives.
I wonder how the explosive was detonated. Did they use the internals of the pager for the detonation or was there a radio controlled detonator included with the explosive? It is a win for technocrats.
I can imagine lots of movie scripts borrowing this concept. There have been many scripts around car hacking to kill the passengers Also many around hacking into mobile phones. But the use of the phone as deadly bomb is a new twist. The mission impossible self-immolating tape could have inspired the concept but rather more deadly than a tape catching fire.
20
Does anyone know if the pager’s battery was user-replaceable or integrated – like in mobile phones?
Generally speaking, if I would be designing a “cheap & simple” gizmo today I would made totally sealed in epoxy.
As they say – no user serviceable parts inside.
There may be a partial answer why the modification was never discovered…
20
There is another facts mismatch – if exploding pagers was a Mossad ploy why they waited a day before blowing up walkie-talkies?
I do not question Israeli planning but what ordinary Hisbollah lieutenants had in their heads? Assurance that equipment was checked and tripple checked?
If both devices were purchased via in any way related purchase path, would not all remnants be quarantined at once, taken to a safe location and investigated there?
Which brings up another feature – 85 days service between charges. Battery makers are very particular about cell pressure relieving and leak prevention.
Vice-versa: Is it possible to design and construct a battery cell to become a real bomb, on a top of being just a battery? NO modification of devices themselves was needed. Then sell it as unique, military grade product not available to ordinary people.
That could explain not only pagers and 2-way radios, but user terminals, solar panel controllers, anything with CPU back-up battery.
20
I think you’re assuming those Hezbollah people are more intelligent than they really are, Vlad. Sure they have some smart people, but the lower echelons? Not so much.
30
Trump assassination attempt #3
Explosives found in a car by drug sniffer dog at Trump’s NYC rally.
Why is every attempt by an amateur and a fail?
Almost deliberate…
No attempts on Kumallah though from those evil non-lefties.
Good dog! Good boy!😉
60
DNA Contamination in mRNA Covid Shots up to 145 Times Regulatory Limit, First Independent Australian Study Shows
Synthetic plasmid DNA contamination has been detected in Australian vials of Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines at levels of between seven and 145 times the allowable limit, a new study shows.
The independent study of three modified RNA (mod-RNA) vaccine vials, including lots for children and adults, was commissioned to provide evidence in a Federal Court lawsuit over the validity of the regulatory status of the vaccines.
The case, brought by legal firm P.J. O’Brien & Associates, alleges that the vaccines contain unlicensed genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the form of synthetic DNA contamination and mod-RNA-LNP complexes which could pose an untested safety risk, including the potential for DNA integration into the human genome.
In an affidavit provided to legal firm P.J. O’Brien & Associates, molecular virologist Dr. David Speicher said that the amount of synthetic DNA he detected in all three Australian vials “far exceeded” the allowable regulatory limit set by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/09/18/dna-contamination-in-mrna-covid-shots-up-to-145-times-regulatory-limit-first-independent-australian-study-shows/
Anyone know any non-extradition countries?
Asking for pollies/health experts/TGA staff..
80
Here is a start –
“These Are The World’s Top 10 Tax Havens”
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/these-are-worlds-top-10-tax-havens
10
Showing the “generosity” of Pfizzer and Moderna?
10
Drivers Hit With “Astonishing” £322 Million in Fines After Sadiq Khan’s Ulez Expansion
Nearly 1.8 million penalty charge notices were issued between August 29th last year and the end of June, according to analysis of Transport for London (TfL) statistics.
The value of these at the point of issue was £322.8 million. TfL’s penalty charge notices carry a fine of £180 each, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.
The organisation’s figures suggest it received approximately £176 million from drivers who did pay Ulez fees over the same period.
It previously said all money received from the scheme was “reinvested into improving London’s public transport network”, such as expanding bus routes in outer London.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, made the low-emission zone almost four times larger, covering all the capital’s boroughs, in August last year.
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/09/18/drivers-hit-with-astonishing-322-million-in-fines-after-sadiq-khans-ulez-expansion/
That’s $650M AUD.
Even that won’t fix their woes…
50
Ssshhh…extra special post tomorrow…ssshhh…
You won’t want to miss this one.😉
02
“You won’t want to miss this one.”
lol!! ..and don’t forget to comment, like and subscribe while I stand here with my mouth hanging open saying “You will be SHOCKED! A MUST-WATCH VIDEO!! ”
Yeah, riiight…
20
TRUMP on Gutfeld.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fn_k4uujNE
00
Northern Beaches Council Election Results: Team ‘Orange’ Dominates
Updated 19 September: The NSW Local Government Elections were held on Saturday, 14 September, with residents of the five wards electing 15 new councillors to govern the Northern Beaches.
The votes are still being counted, and the election results are not formally concluded until all postal votes have been returned to the Electoral Commissioner in late September. When all the votes have been counted, the official announcement of the election results will be declared in writing. Results will be declared between 1 and 3 October 2024.
With that caveat in mind, we can provide the following list of statistically certain and/or probable candidates for each ward below.
The crux? The new Northern Beaches Council will have at least seven members of Your Northern Beaches (YNB) Independent Team, anywhere from one to three Greens (GRN), three independents and one Liberal affiliate.
Originally it looked certain for three Green candidates to cross the line but a late swing against has put that in doubt.
Time will tell.
40
Are those ‘independents’ the usual covert Greens and Labor proxies?
40
Have just been filling out the company tax return. The last tax deductable item is PAYG – looks like someone oopsed big time. Salary is normally gross (including PAYG). PAYG is a personal tax, not a company tax. Gross Salary is part of the cost of business. Anyway I left it blank as it doesn’t make any sense filling it out. If I deducted the PAYG from the salary as an expense figure then claimed it back the company would actually pay less tax – total madness.
30
Climate Economics
Heat Pump Subsidies: Never Enough
By Mark Krebs — September 18, 2024
Early this month, Lucas Davis, a Professor in Business and Technology at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, published an article titled: How Do We Pump Up the Impact of Heat Pump Subsidies?
In April, Professor Davis published a precursor article titled: Why Are Heat Pump Sales Decreasing?
The upshot is that despite Federal rebates of up to $8,000 per the “Inflation Reduction Act,” real-world economics of electric heat pumps are dismal.
Several commenters to the second article aptly summarized why from a consumer perspective.
Case Study One
Case Study Two
Junk science behind federal appliance regs about to get junkier
The Biden-Harris administration has embarked on a wave of anti-consumer home appliance regulations over the last several years. Each was justified in part by overblown claims of climate change benefits. And now, the Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed using a new methodology that would further inflate these hypothetical benefits to justify even worse regulations in the years ahead.
DOE is in the process of creating new energy use limits for stoves, dishwashers, furnaces, washing machines, water heaters, ceiling fans, refrigerators, and more. The agency always asserts that consumers experience net gains from these regulations, but CEI has filed comments highly critical of these rosy assumptions. In reality, such rules often raise the up-front costs of appliances more than is likely to be earned back in the form of energy savings. Some rules also compromise appliance choice, performance, and reliability.
But DOE’s fictitious consumer benefits are only part of the problem.
CEI has also taken issue with the agency’s assertions that these regulations deliver quantifiable climate change benefits.
For example, DOE’s costly 2023 final rule for residential furnaces was estimated by the agency to provide $16.2 billion worth of such benefits. The agency arrives at this figure by calculating the reduced energy use attributable to the efficiency standards and then estimating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided as a result – mostly carbon dioxide emitted to produce electricity at coal or natural gas-fired power plants. Then it multiplies the tons of emissions avoided by the calculated per unit dollar cost to society of such emissions.
Mark Krebs, a mechanical engineer and energy policy consultant, has been involved with energy efficiency design and program evaluation for over thirty years. Mark has served as an expert witness in dozens of State energy efficiency proceedings, has been an advisor to DOE and has submitted scores of Federal energy-efficiency filings.
30
Memories
https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/3585?keywords=Honi%20Soit%201964%2010&highlights=eyIwIjoiaG9uaSIsIjEiOiJzb2l0IiwiMiI6IjE5NjQiLCIxMyI6IjEwIn0=&lsk=b0c5da5ea59415337a449532968aaadd#idx14042
Martin Sharp’s View of The Sydney Uni Commemoration Day Manly Ferry Cruise 1964 (Organised by The Syd Uni Engineers – we only made it just out of Circular Quay) and Chief Justice Michael Kirby (then President SRC) defended students arrested during Commem, including one of my Mates who was arrested at the Wharf after the Cruise, defending his girlfriend from the Police.
The Dress on the ferry was Black Tie Formal with the Girls decked out to the nines – Martin Sharp’s Cartoon sums it up well – it degenerated quickly
His Original Invitation to The Commem Day Harbour Cruise was a Classic Martin Sharp Cartoon – Wish I had kept a copy
PS on the comment on and opening the BRIDGE
– we led a protest riding Cyclops Toys, given to us for the day by Cyclops, across the Bridge protesting charging tolls for motorbikes
I rode a 3 wheel tricycle – it was a Bl@@dy long Way up to the the toll gates then up & down a bit and long up to the top of the Bridge Roadway curve, with my knees outside the handlebars as I was obviously too big for Tricycle, before going down hill past Milsons Point – Carried the Tricycle back by the pedestrian path on the way back
Was wrecked at the end
60
FWIW
“From the files of ‘Be careful what you ask for'”
“We all know the old phrase about being careful what you ask for because you just might get it.
However, there’s another reason to be careful what you ask for, and that’s because you usually don’t know what all it will take for you to get it.
For example, if you want to be a big corporate CEO, be prepared to sacrifice anything that looks like a work-life balance.
But the idea applies in so many other areas of life that it’s not even funny.
Which brings me to our glorious green future.
In fact, it seems our glorious green future now comes with more child labor!”
More at
https://tomknighton.substack.com/p/from-the-files-of-be-careful-what
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FWIW
“The Second Attempt to Kill President Trump”
https://sebastiangorka.substack.com/p/whos-responsible-for-the-second-trump?r=q3lc4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
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FWIW
Instapundit lead in “DOCTORS FOR POVERTY AND SOCIALISM: ”
“Who Knew That Poverty And Socialism Were The Answer?
What was the question again?”
“It’s really pretty weird how a magazine for doctors turns out to have the answers to the entire socieoeconomic system we live under. But then I guess that’s what we get when we allow a magazine for doctors to be run, edited, by an avowed Marxist. For that’s where we are. The Lancet now has a “Planetary Health” section. ”
More at
https://timworstall.substack.com/p/who-knew-that-poverty-and-socialism
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Seems people don’t want to pay to be insulted https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/karens-diner-goes-bust-customers-9563730
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Trump makes first in-studio ‘Gutfeld!’ appearance (video)
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