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Wednesday

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37 comments to Wednesday

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    Geoff Sherrington

    It is Wednesday after 4 days of Easter holidays, soon the be ANZAC day, another ‘long weekend. Easy to knock off from Easter Friday 18th April to the end of Anzac weekend, 28th April for 10 days.
    My wife took Ill with an ambulance to hospital at 4.30 am on Sat 19th. Still there, still waiting for adequate medical care, fighting a system where the few staff at the hospital laugh at their holidaying mates for missing out on overtime. Their idea of serious talk is to say that there is not enough money to fund Victoria’s health costs anyhow, so the afflicted have to lower their expectations these days. Those medical staff who are at work spend much time on filling in voluminous paperwork instead of observing patients, some joking about it being in English using too many big and technical words that they do not understand.
    What an unholy mess. Geoff S

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    First professorship for “Gender Justice in Applied Mathematics” – with 450,000 euros in state funding

    Bielefeld University is currently advertising a professorship for “Gender Equity in Applied Mathematics.” Anyone willing to relocate to Bielefeld can expect a permanent, full-time position starting September 1. The job advertisement states that the professor will teach and conduct research in the field of “Gender Equity in Applied Mathematics.” The professorship is funded with €450,000 by the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Culture, as the university announced in a press release in January.

    The link leads to a German text you easily may translate as I did.
    I don’t provide no further comments, you know, criticize Gouvernement in Germany…

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  • #
    Richard Ilfeld

    The usual anti-Trump forces are doing their usual bloviating,
    and would certainly crash the US economy if they could —
    anything to “get Trump”

    But the tariffs which are exceedingly modest, looking at the actual collections vs. the size of the economy,
    have ripped the band-aide off the point unspoken for 50 years.

    The US market consumes a lot, has been among the least protectionist in the world, and as a consequence has
    absorbed some damage.

    It’s not real good to have your entire pharma supply chain, and much of your high tech supply chain, in a China that is increasingly bellicose.

    It’s not cool that virtually anyone can sell cars in the US, and US cars are seldom accepted elsewhere — there isn’t a developed country in the
    world where a Corvette, or Ford 150 dealer wouldn’t make money if allowed in on the same terms we allow mfrs. to sell here.

    The US farmer is the most productive in the world (A major sources of our productivity) but can’t sell not many markets.

    It’s probably not good for the “world’s policeman” not to have steel and shipbuilding capabilities — didn’t see anyone else rushing to take down the Houties.

    The tariffs have suddenly opened the door to discussions. The “pause” sets a deadline. You can’t move that fast, wail the ensconced parasitic munchkins.

    Bovine Excrement! Nations have been “talking” about these issues for 50 years, Diplomatic jabberwocky being the best way in the world to avoid, you know, actual action.

    Git Er Bone! We’ll all prosper. Oz is well on the way to being a resource colony of China. Join the fight please. Oz used to make
    stuff too. Probably could again. Making stuff that one can sell produces money, some of which is actually distributed to the workers.
    More tha letting a certain nation steal your assets.

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      tonyb

      US cars are made in vast quantities in Europe by US firms but they have been adapted to European taste and roads so there is little scope for the US to export vehicles direct to the continent..

      Few here would want the original rather brash over large cars

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      • #
        James

        How much does a Ram pick up truck cost in Australia? It was a six figure amount. After that could you afford the petrol? There was and might still be a company importing them and converting to Right hand drive.

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      • #
        Yarpos

        I got a Chysler300C as a rental car in Europe once ( a station wagon no less) it was pitched at an upgrade. What a disaster whenever I left the motorway. Probably a fine thing in the land of wide roads and 100acre car parks, but in Europe, not so much.

        20

    • #
      Vicki

      Well said Richard. It is incredible to face a situation where we are pretty much a service economy supplying nations like China with the raw materials to make what we, in turn, buy back. It has placed us, long term, in a very precarious security situation – both in terms of supply of essential goods and in terms of threat of attack and survival.

      High wages, industrial unrest and a huge market overseas led to an eventual de-industrialisation. It may prove our undoing. Re-industrialisation, anyone?

      80

  • #
    Skepticynic

    Poland Prosecutes 45 Doctors for COVID Vaccine Misinformation

    A group of Polish physicians attempted to warn the public that the COVID-19 mRNA vaccinations were not “safe and effective.” Countless evidence and studies have proven that the vaccination did more harm than good. Yet, Poland has placed 45 doctors on trial for spreading anti-vaccine misinformation during the pandemic. If found guilty, these men and women will lose their medical licenses.

    These 45 physicians are part of the Polish Association of Independent Physicians and Scientists (PSNLiN), a group that actively sought to warn the public about the harmful side effects of the mRNA vaccine.

    Although there are 45 physicians on trial currently, over 100 are facing charges.

    130

  • #
    Skepticynic

    Political censorship rears its ugly head yet again:

    French “Great Replacement” Philosopher Renaud Camus Banned From Entering UK

    The British government, led by the radical, left-liberal globalist Labor Party, has banned 78-year-old French philosopher and author Renaud Camus from entering the country, alleging that his ‘controversial’ views on mass migration are a threat to “the public good.”

    The decision, which follows a long list of dissident speakers who’ve faced entry bans into the UK, has sparked a wave of backlash from free speech advocates, political commentators, and international figures, who say the move reflects the UK political class’s increasing intolerance for dissenting opinions.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/french-great-replacement-philosopher-renaud-camus-banned-entering/

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Copied from Quora Digest.

    A young Swedish woman, who described herself as having extraordinary beauty and extremely seductive charms posted an anonymous ad on Craigslist stating that she was looking for a wealthy man to marry with an annual income of over $500,000, plus several conditions.

    She received a response from a commenter, as follows:

    – My dear beautiful lady…

    I read your post with interest, and I think many beautiful girls have questions similar to yours. Allow me to analyze your questions as a professional investor. My total annual income is over $500,000, which perfectly matches your requirements.

    From my perspective as a businessman, it would be a bad decision to marry you. Here’s my short answer, and let me explain why:

    “Regardless of the details, what you’re doing now is a pure transaction. An exchange of your “beauty” for “my money.”

    Person A has the beauty, and Person B will pay money for that beauty. A perfectly fair and straightforward transaction. However, there’s a fatal problem here: your beauty will inevitably diminish over the years, while my money isn’t expected to diminish without a strong reason. The truth is, my income will likely increase from year to year, while you won’t be any more beautiful in a few years.

    So, from an economic perspective, I represent an “asset” whose value increases over time, while you represent a “consumer” asset whose value decreases. If your beauty is all you own, things will get worse because you won’t be a normal consumer product, but rather a product with a very high depreciation rate that will completely expire within 10 years.

    120

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    An elaboration on “uncompleted nothings from yesterday”.

    An early morning conversation

    She – “And what are you going to do today”

    He – “Aw probably nothing”

    She – “But you did that yesterday”

    He – “But I didn’t get it finished”

    90

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    An interesting look at the history of Pope Francis and the covid “vaccination”

    https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/memento-mori-tuesday-april-22-2025?

    30

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – grim reader for the morning

    “The Risk Of This Ending In Blood”

    https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=253173

    10

  • #
    OldOzzie

    Re influence of Drone Warfare from Ukraine/Russia War

    Look at the Vehicle loading onto the Globemaster in the following article

    Trump Administration Starts Pulling Hundreds of Troops from Syria

    PS Welcome back Jo!

    20

  • #
    MeAgain

    https://warrenross.substack.com/p/katoomba-the-us-state-department

    In April 2000, members of a Washington think tank brought together around 150 economists, scientists, investors, and professional conservationists from four continents to a series of workshops at Taronga Zoo. A select 50 then took a bus trip to Katoomba for an intensive two day workshop. Their plan was to use financial investment to fund large conservation programs. Or it may have been the other way around?

    For years people have argued that you can’t put a price on nature. This group was going to prove that old dictum wrong. Not only can you put a price on it, that price can be quite high. Their work has continued and they have made allies of some very powerful people.

    Seems they liked our name and have been running events all round the world while using it. In October last year, after 25 years, they made a return visit.

    20

  • #
    David Maddison

    Latest case of TDS from Their ABC Australia.

    I just heard on the radio ABC-RN 621kHz in Melbournistan around 8am EST the absurd claim that Donald TRUMP had “invited himself” to the Pope’s funeral.

    As if he wouldn’t be invited, he is the world’s major world leader.

    Just more lies and Far Left propaganda from your billion dollar +++ per year ABC.

    Even PM Albo was invited but is sending the Governor General instead. I think Albo would be an embarrassment at anyone’s funeral, good he’s not going.

    The last VIP funeral I went to was Sir Zelman Cowen. PM Gillard was there, as well as Howard, Fraser, Hawke, Tony Abbott and many other dignitaries. Gillard came across as a bogan*, even at a funeral and would have been an equal embarrassment as Albo.

    For overseas friends, bogan is Australian slang:

    …”bogan” is a slang term for a person whose appearance, behavior, and speech are considered unrefined or unsophisticated, often associated with working-class backgrounds.

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  • #
    MeAgain

    https://www.shiftedparadigms.org/p/an-exciting-project-on-disinformation

    In a recent post on social media, the Australian epidemiologist and global biosecurity guru, Raina MacIntyre posted about an “exciting project on sentiment and disinformation in the health/epidemic domain” at the University of New South Wales’s Kirby Institute

    The $499,932 of taxpayer funds awarded to MacIntyre and her team will be used to create AI that can identify public health disinformation and its effect on communities.

    “Disinformation, or ‘fake news’, is a significant challenge in today’s public health field, and unfortunately is a consequence of living in a highly connected world,” says Professor MacIntyre. “It affects community sentiment, which in turn can affect vaccination rates and uptake of other health interventions. AI-driven solutions will help detect and combat disinformation as more threats emerge, and will provide early warnings of negative community sentiment, which can inform health promotion and public health messaging to communities.”4 [emphasis added]

    As though the pandemic’s negative community sentiment was irrational and fuelled by disinformation rather than being the rational response to being locked down, mandated, threatened, marginalised, silenced: now ignored.

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    • #
      Forrest Gardener

      Let she who is without sin cast the first stone.

      And her crusade may well founder on the rocks when common and garden chatbots can identify the errors of her propaganda. Even without government grants.

      00

  • #
    David Maddison

    QUOTE

    The first step in a fascist movement is the combination under an energetic leader of a number of men who possess more than the average share of leisure, brutality, and stupidity. The next step is to fascinate fools and muzzle the intelligent, by emotional excitement on the one hand and terrorism on the other.

    Bertrand Russell: Freedom, edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen, Harcourt Brace, 1940.

    00

  • #
    David Maddison

    What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers? Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets.

    00

  • #
    David Maddison

    Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it isn’t sufficiently complex yet.

    00

  • #
    David Maddison

    A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.

    The engineer fumed, “What’s with those guys? We’ve been waiting for fifteen minutes!”

    The doctor chimed in, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such inept golf!” The priest said, “Here comes the green-keeper. Let’s have a word with him.” He said, “Hello George, What’s wrong with that group ahead of us? They’re rather slow, aren’t they?”

    The green-keeper replied, “Oh, yes. That’s a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime!”

    The group fell silent for a moment. The priest said, “That’s so sad. I’ll say a special prayer for them tonight.”

    The doctor said, “Good idea. I’ll contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if here’s anything she can do for them.”

    The engineer said, “Why can’t they play at night?”

    10

  • #
    David Maddison

    To the optimist, the glass is half-full. To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

    10

  • #
    David Maddison

    Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is in some small way to become evil oneself. One’s standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.

    Theodore Dalrymple

    00

  • #
    David Maddison

    It’s amazing that Australia has so many stupid people that there are political parties to cater to them, Labor, Greens and Teals!

    00

    • #
      Forrest Gardener

      I think you may have missed quite a few political parties there David.

      My wife and I did our civic duty yesterday.
      The senate ballot paper was chockers with hopeful grifters on the lookout for stupid people.

      00

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