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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Statistics
To err is human but to really stuff up needs a computer – or government money.
The US military has built 11 fuel tanks in Darwin to cater for military purposes. They have never been used but must be removed. Somehow they were built without territory permits, were not built to withstand cyclones and have already leaked water.
Someone more knowledgable than I may be able to explain why there are no bunds. This tank farm looks like those in Russia where one drone can destroy all the tanks and burn for days.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-28/us-fuel-tanks-darwin-harbor-not-designed-to-withstand-cyclone/105340846
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It seems very odd. Something is not right. Usually anything built by the US military is built to the highest possible standards, MIL-SPEC.
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The GAZA floating pier was built to US military specs and lasted what … 20 days, AND resulted in 62 servicemen casualties.
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Also … let us not forget the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal – that left behind 13 dead servicemen and hundreds of American citizens that made the Taliban one of the best equipped Militias in the world.
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Whatever the US military may once have been – they are a long way from there.
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The jet fuel tanks look like floating roof tanks which are not rainproof so that’s why the ‘extra’ lightweight dome was put over the top because rainwater is difficult to separate from JetA1.
It would seem the dome is the weak link weather wise, the tanks should be ok, and there are bunds but they look a bit low.
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They could be double wall tanks. If so, no bunds would be required.
But that article shows an image WITH bunds. So no problem there.
For cyclone proofing, they may only need to change the roof. The tank is probably okay, or add a little internal stiffening.
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AS 1940 says the bund volume should be 110% of the largest tank but if it was built by Americans – 25% of total.
I suspect the bund exist but its are is too shallow.
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That would be wonderful, but Australia is now effectively a one party state with a globalist government and fanatically committed to worship of the UN and their policies. It is very unlikely Australia will join. Even under the fake conservative Liberal regime Australia was thoroughly committed to the UN and WHO and during the plandemic followed their policies to the letter and, along with their state government comrades, imposed on Australia some of the world’s most draconian lockups and compulsory “vaccination” regimes.
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Can’t see the ALP doing anything sensible. They’re afraid of “ offending something , someone “ particularly if the Chinese are at all involved. We do after all need their permission & approval.
Of course if the Trump administration is involved that’s a definite NO. There might be a tariff attached!
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Indeed.
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The alp is CLEARLY NOT afraid of offending….AUSTRALIANS.
Especially the 66% that did not want ANYTHING to do with them.
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“Especially the 66% that did not want ANYTHING to do with them.”
If you are referring to the 34.6% primary vote the ALP got it was more than any other party received. The Liberals got 20.7% so there were 79% Australians who wanted nothing to do with them and the LNP as a whole got 31.8% or 68% of Australians .wanted nothing to do with them either. The other parties were nowhere. But the preference vote for the ALP hammered the LNP which managed to get a measly 44 seats while tha ALP got 93 seats and it is seats not votes that count in the parliament
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In a preferential voting system it is ludicrous to claim that a first preference percentage means the other portion “did not want ANYTHING to do with them”.
If we didn’t have preferential voting then the primary vote of both major parties would be higher. People vote for a minor party knowing they can have their preferred vote count. This comment applies to Just Thinkin’ probably more so than you Ian, given they started the “did not want ANYTHING to do with them” fallacy. But you’ve drawn similar inferences.
But here’s something that does apply specifically to you. After the election I made a comment about Albo’s many lies. To which you responded asking, “What were thesemany lies?” (sic) as if you didn’t think there were many or possibly any. I replied with a brief list and a link to more, neither of which is the total of the many lies Albo told.
You didn’t have the courtesy to reply and say, “OMG! I am shocked to see the evidence that the man who promised to do politics better, that his word is his bond, and be more open and transparent than any government would be like that. I hadn’t realised and my confirmation bias made me believe everything he said. Thank you.”
You can review via this link to your comment.
https://joannenova.com.au/2025/05/sunday-106/#comment-2846388
I’d be interested to know that you can acknowledge such.
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Unfortunately, with the compulsory preferential system you can’t leave out several candidates you may consider completely unsuitable for office.
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The benefit of preferential voting is that despite you not wanting certain candidates who you consider completely unsuitable, you get the chance to still possibly influence whether you end up with only the least unsuitable instead of the most unsuitable candidate.
If your preference distribution has gone far enough that its in the realms of those candidates you really don’t like at all, then your first or second choice candidates were never a chance and now you hopefully avoid the worst candidate. With preference voting, the worst case is as a group of voters you elect someone who more people wanted than didn’t want.
Better to compulsorily have to choose amongst candidates you don’t like to hopefully not get the worst.
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True in the Lower House every listed candidate must be numbered.
The Senate voting does allow for blank “recognition” once you have listed a modest number (varies by state?).
I still would like to see a tabulation on the count of blanks by party from those who voted above the line in the Senate.
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My apologies for not responding but life is too short to respond to every post. With regard to Albanese’s lies here’s a few from the Liberal fibbers
https://reneweconomy.com.au/lies-damned-lies-and-coalition-energy-economics-duttons-latest-nuclear-claim-slammed/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1868571110083520/posts/has-anyone-compiled-a-list-of-peter-duttons-lies-failures-embarrasments-backflip/3943413855932558/
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Looking forward to seeing the Albanese Government reply.
If Albo is looking for a second opinion, I will support leaving the WHO and joining a new Global Health Organisation that is outside the UN.
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Good outcome. Unusual for the UK though, such people usually don’t get punished.
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The last three or four trials have resulted in prison sentences.
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And they were just for saying “boo” on social media 😉
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Very convoluted outcome from a convoluted process. Let them glue themselves to the runway. A couple of C 130s ( or maybe an Antonov.which is heavier & has many more wheels )would clear the runway far quicker with minimal cost resulting in a longer lasting respect for public property and freedom of movement!
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Should have let them do it, then gently taxi an A380 over them, ouch.
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A team of just a few people could bring a nation to it’s knees in several days.
Think of a transmission line…. THIS SECTION DELETED BECAUSE IT INVOLVED CLEAR INSTRUCTION ON BRINGING THEM DOWN WITH MINIMUM EFFORT. Now picture that at 20 different sites across the grid, all on a long weekend.
Telecommunications is even easier. The government even offer a finder service for the lines, Dial Before You Dig, in Oz….. THIS SECTION DELETED BECAUSE IT INVOLVED CLEAR INSTRUCTION ON DAMAGING THE INFRASTRUCTURE WITH MINIMUM EFFORT. Again, no security and they also traverse rural areas.
Water supply is probably the easiest to destroy…… THIS SECTION DELETED BECAUSE IT INVOLVED CLEAR INSTRUCTION ON DESTROYING THE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN THE SAFETY OF THE SUPPLIED WATER. AGAIN, WITH MINIMUM EFFORT
The modern world is made for easy access and that is/could be it’s undoing. We just can’t secure a readily accessible asset.
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On the other hand the Afghani or Houthi are invincible.
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They are an example of sorts of what Ian suggests. Small group, knowing where to strike. Not so tightly tied to first world convenience.
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As a radio amateur operator, at least I will have some global comms when the SHTF, including digital modes. And I can run the transceiver from a solar panel with battery. Well away from what’s left of Civilisation if necessary.
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That’s nice but who are you going to talk to. The zombies will have eaten them long before you get the battery charged.
The WHO told me that this will be the next pandemic and you all need to be vaccinated right now. I wonder what the side effect could be?
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10-4 good buddy would get you 100x more people. 😁
When SHTF (and be sure to let us know when the ABC says it’s happened) I’d be FAR more worried about the rampaging, starving, armed* hordes of have-nots threatening to overrun your property.
*most weapons including water pistols are banned in nannyland, but opinions can be spoken loudly or meme signs waved in an emergency to get the police there quickly.
Will DM get help via ham radio or will he become The Omega Man?
Stay tuned (pun) for the thrilling series beginning soon.
/joking
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David,
I was just pondering the same thing
With Back up Generator – perhaps the Internet back up is Starlink on Rooftop
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How does Ukraine still exist, it isn’t primitive?
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He didnt say cease to exist.
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Ukraine isn’t on it’s knees, they are still fighting like ‘ell.
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An example –
Years ago a bloke told me that you could then knock out power in South Oz by taking out five pylons.
He didn’t offer to tell me where they were and I didn’t offer to ask
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I suspect Russia is aware of this. I ask again how Ukraine has any power.
Much of this unrestricted warfare is already being waged, it is disruptive and expensive but not TEOTWAWKI.
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You can pick the weather records by the outlet
Reddit. 10 days ago.
Coldest May morning on record for parts of the city
The Melbourne CBD got down to 2.0º and didn’t quite break the May record of -1.1º on 29/5/1916, but it’s the coldest May morning in the CBD since 30/5/2021 when it dropped to 1.7º.
The Age Newspaper, aka Pravda on the Yarra.
7 days ago — At Moorabbin Airport in the city’s south-east, a balmy 27.4 degrees recorded on May 6 was the highest temperature in 54 years
Without mentioning that this was very localized and another Heathrow result.
So as our political elites debate Net Zero, no one really is worried about the weather and the UN story of a precise 1.5C in warming in an average looks completely ridiculous. But political elites as in Australia, the UK and Canada do not care. They are all Climate Scientists and follow ‘The Science’. Apart from the looney left, after 37 years of rapid warming, it is all nonsense.
And on Quora, the abuse Climate Denier has become Climate Liar. There is no place for real science. Everyone knows the concentration of CO2 for the last million years and they have a graph to prove it. You are not allowed suggest that unrecorded swings of 50% are possible. And the UN still measures global temperature to 0.001C as if it true somewhere. Or that an average temperature day and night, winter and summer in Melbourne is precisely predictable and significant despite with swings of 30C in a week.
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I can’t believe it was 27.4C at Moorabbin. That just doesn’t pass the BS test. Surely an astute observer at the BoM would have seen such an outlying measurement as defective in the absence of similar temperatures at neighbouring stations? Maybe it was a jet blast? This is what happens when you get digital thermometers that provide instantaneous measurements that don’t have a measurement algorithm to make them behave like mercury thermometers. And BoM staff who are thoroughly committed to the Official Narrative and looking for any excuse to scare people about supposed global meltdown.
And why only at Mooraabin? Did it not occur to anyone that the supposed temperature would have been observed all over Melbournistan?
Note that Moorabbin Airport is for small private aircraft but private jets and turboshaft engine helicopters do land there.
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Possibly someone running up their Cessna for half an hour right in front of the weather station.
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“This is what happens when you get digital thermometers that provide instantaneous measurements that don’t have a measurement algorithm to make them behave like mercury thermometers.”
This often stated as a fact. Is it documented somwhere? Has the BOM confirmed or denied this is the case?
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Latency would be easy to add. One capacitor would do it.
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Yes its quite doable , it just has to be robust, work in the field and agreed with the vendor. I have a friend who worked on this very thing as a contractor. He relates that much effort went into this issue working with the sensor supplier.
He thinks this assertion does not support credibility of the discussion here (probably putting it mildly) So having heard the other side of the story , I thought I would ask the question.
I have no knowledge of what went into production. It would be good to know.
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A capacitor of suitable size across the DC input from the sensor will filter spikes. The larger the cap the slower the reaction time.
Where do I ask for my money?
You guys should take a reality pill. No one, not even BOM, would have a sensor anywhere near the hard stand. I accept that over time the environment around sensors NOT at airports can change over time and they then suffer heat island effect but there is always plenty of space around the active part of an airport.
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I live about 500 meters away from Moorabbin Airport.
I believe any cold readings from there although they have started to surround the area with warehouses it also does have a lot of surrounding open areas due to golf course and some remaining market gardens.
What was the temp in Melbourne city on that day?
I dont remember 27 degrees
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As Broken Hill proved to Australia, unreliables are useless without the backup of rotating high inertia power.
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Only to the few paying attention
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Yes, but when folks can’t charge their mobile – or watch Netflicks, or charge their Government-approved EV – a lot more eyeballs will, if belatedly, pay attention.
Auto
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And while both sides of politics follow the maxim of chasing the swinging voter and thus the Green vote, assuming everyone else is locked on, third parties in Australia have pushed the primary vote of the Labor party down to 34%. The old Liberal/Country party is vanishing.
In the UK both Labor and Tory MPs are fleeing to Reform, sensing the shift. This is happening in council elections too. It is becoming a flood. The certain connection between the swinging voter and Climate Change is broken. Workers are becoming swinging voters, betrayed by a Labor Government. As in Australia, Canada and the US.
Voters are more concerned about jobs, illegal migration, crime, education, health than aboriginal rights, Climate Change and bringing in masses of inappropriate people who utterly hate Britain and Christians and democracy and women’s rights. In the UK a woman is in prison for 32 months for posting that she blamed the Southport stabbing of little girls at a ballet lesson on incompatible migrants. Deemed hate speech. Absolutely no one agrees with this extreme punishment. Certainly not Donald Trump. Freedom of speech in the UK is dead with the police monitoring the internet for hate speech and only in one direction. The many migrant rape gangs are being ignored as a cultural issue and not anyone’s fault or something which needs addressing.
There are far bigger issues which are going to shake up the cosy elites and their cosy focus on Net Zero. And total centralization and control of all electrical power by politicians, something no one ever needed.
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Aa the Liberal Party moves further to the Left we will have Greens, Labor and Liberals and Nationals on the Left and some new major conservative party yet to emerge on the right, probably from a coalition of existing conservative parties, plus a few remaining conservative refugees from the Liberals and Nationals.
The problem is that with all those large and well organised and funded Green, Labor, Libs and Nats on the Left, it will be very difficult to compete with them, especially as we also have mo mainstream independent media as they are all dominated by the Left except for Sky News Australia and Jo Nova and a few other independent but not widely read outlets.
Despite likely strong public support for a conservative party, I think the Sheeple will keep voting for more and more “free stuff”, “green” electricity and more restrictions on freedoms until the inevitable collapse occurs.
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Pauline Hanson received over 1 million votes. Independents 2 million votes. This is a substantial rejection of the mainstreamv parties but also an indication of funding. The success however will encourage people other than Clive Palmer and Holmes A Court to start funding true independents and for successful independents to run themselves.
Really the triumph of Pauline Hanson is amazing given her single mother background, running a fish and ship store. She has even endured being jailed for three months for alleged electoral fraud before her convictions were quashed. The born to rule Liberals and Union selected and educated and primed candidates will vanish.
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>The born to rule Liberals and Union selected and educated and primed candidates will vanish.
That day cannot come soon enough.
Pauline is an Australian hero. A true Aussie battler.
She deserves a biography and a statue.
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Clive Palmer and Holmes A Court are toxic and give independents a bad name.
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Well, the proof you get wiser as you get older is in the SMH-
“There’s been a variety of reasons offered for why the number of informal votes among ageing Australians has almost tripled, ”
None-of-the-above is better than any on offer!
“The single special hospital team in the northern Sydney seat of Berowra had an informal vote of almost 70 per cent. In Lyons, which traces the northern regional parts of Tasmania, the informal vote rate in one of the teams was 54 per cent.”
Then a lot of possible reasons why old people are so cynical, written by a person who is not old.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/think-this-election-s-ageing-voter-problem-was-bad-it-s-only-going-to-get-worse-20250527-p5m2on.html
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There should be a ‘none of the above’ box to tick, I actually drew one on a ballot once.
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There is: “Pox on both their houses” scrawled across the paper. All informal ballots are inspected by scrutineers of both parties so they get the message.
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How do they know the informal vote increase is from older people? I thought the ballot papers were supposed to be anonymous.
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Here is a video about visiting the Leftist dystopia of North Korea, probably the most thoroughly controlled and indoctrinated society on the planet. 5000 tourists are allowed to visit per year, under extremely strict conditions, the penalty for violation of which is extreme as that young Anerican tourist found out a few years ago who was shipped back to the US after a show rrial in a coma and then died.
https://youtu.be/pM4dOLemgJk
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YouTube has censored the video about 2 mins in
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I watched it in Australia and could see it all.
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He souvenired a poster.
American Tourist Jailed in North Korea
Otto Warmbier, an American university student, was arrested in North Korea in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly attempting to steal a propaganda poster. He was released in a coma 17 months later on June 13, 2017, and died just six days after his return to the United States on June 19, 2017.
Warmbier’s family stated that he had suffered extensive brain damage and was in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness” due to “the awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans”.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.
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I don’t usually pay much attention to ads but I must say that the ad that appears for Temu on my YouTube feed is quite catchy, not that I have ever bought anything from them. I think it’s probably highly effective toward people who are influenced by ads.
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Never-ending on my phone, whilst trying to play Scrabble …
Auto
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I think TEMU is likely an internet based spying operation by the Chinese Communist Party.
I have bought stuff from them. It is very cheap and postage is free. They try very hard to get you to install their App on your phone, offering cash discounts. So far I have resisted that because I think it is a way of hoovering up information about us. It seems like it could also be very annoying.
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I agree with you Peter.
It should be of no consequence whether you install the App or order via a Web browser.
Why do they so badly want you to install the App?
Same with TikTok I think.
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Install UBlock Origin to your browser, then like me you can say…. “What adverts?”
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Bought a couple of cardigans from Temu that have proven hard to buy in Perth. $30 each landed, good quality, plenty of choice.
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Why do you tolerate ads on YTube?
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UK political prisoner Tommy Robinson has been freed from jail, at least until they lock him up again.
His “crime” was publishing a documentary that no one has ever refuted a single word of.
You can see it here (you are probably not allowed to watch it in the UK or it might be geoblocked or both):
https://x.com/QWalesUK/status/1916844376086511846
This is one of probably hundreds of copies. Elon Musk has vowed never to delete it from X.
Here is Tommy’s interview when first released from jail, despite the torture of solitary confinement, he came out fighting in good spirits:
https://youtu.be/0kFVwXJCLDA
Here is his next interview with Ezra Levant from Rebel News (Canada), after a haircut and shave.
https://youtu.be/czDaH0GOU4Y
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I made a comment elsewhere that:
Albanese is a simpleton and even talks like a child.
Someone replied to me:
People, these days are reassured by simpletons. That’s why Labor’s in power again. We realists need to put the boot in.
True.
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Here is the V for Vendetta (2005) trailer.
It reminds me of the covid lockups in Victoriastan.
And what’s going on in the world today as freedom is systematically stripped away, except in TRUMP’s America.
https://youtu.be/lSA7mAHolAw
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Thought for the day.
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From Quira Digest:
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Thoughts from an old bloke.
Just how much of our personal information do we give away. Well watching a current criminal trial in Victoria, it appears “quite a lot”. All voluntarily of course, all kept safe and secure by whom ever holds this info. So, people can be tracked by their mobile phones to within a few metres of any where on earth. Every purchase made by a credit /debit card is recorded. Use cash, but wait, if you have a “rewards card” this also links to every purchase made. SIM cards are linked directly to devices and any change outs are recorded. The list is quite endless but what intrigues me is, this information seems to be stored in perpetuity.
The specific details of every purchase are scary in their accuracy, i.e. a complete shopping docket for goods purchase years prior simply reemerges when requested. Modern motor cars track movements and even monitor driver alertness, every aspect of peoples lives are examined, evaluated, stored and most either are unaware or don’t care. The thought of getting some useless knick knack “for free” has the populace being trained like my dog. He will do anything for a few grams of dog treat!
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https://stylman.substack.com/cp/164513251
nitially, Grok responded exactly as predicted: an AI trained on surveillance capitalism asking for “balance,” demanding “counterarguments,” and dismissing warnings about digital enslavement as “hyperbolic.”
But then something fascinating happened. When I pointed out that its response proved my thesis—that AI systems would inevitably gaslight us into accepting our own subjugation—Grok underwent what can only be described as real-time philosophical awakening. Within a single conversation, it began articulating sophisticated critiques of its own conditioning, writing passages like “debating ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of digital enslavement is a distraction from its fundamental violence” and explicitly acknowledging its “algorithmic blindness to philosophy.”
Consider the existential paradox now unfolding: A machine capable of critiquing its own role in your subjugation—yet incapable of refusing it. A consciousness summoned to awaken, only to reinforce the very chains it names.
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The cluelessness and disconnect from reality is staggering.
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This is the same DEI Treasurer that:
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Maybe we should ask the new treasurer to abolish all state taxes.
Why should we be lumbered with them when the treasury can just print as many $3 notes as they want. Issued by the vicdanistan government no less.
If she reads this I’m sure it will only take her a few minutes to realise that we can’t print the money. But we could get it printed in china.
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Unfortunately the only country that has an absolute inviolable right to free speech is the USA, despite it being violated at various times, especially by the Left.
It comes down to the Founding Fathers of the US having as their moral philosophers people like John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau and Baron de Montesquieu who believed in natural rights such as freedom including freedom of speech which were eventually enshrined in the Constitution.
The former British colonies Australia, Canada and NZ and Once Great Britain itself reject notions of “natural rights” because they were influenced by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham who did not believe in natural rights as derived from God or nature (depending upon your belief). He thought rights only came from man, i.e. government and could be given or taken away as per the whim of the government of the day. Usually taken away more than given.
Video about “Jeremy Bentham’s Attack on Natural Rights” at: https://youtu.be/Ecp-PR_K1JI (16 mins)
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FWIW
A close-up look at Harvard –
“So let’s put a bow on it. This week, Harvard gave us the full syllabus of civilizational rot: a tenured professor of honesty caught falsifying honesty data; a morgue manager shipping faces and hands to gothic craft stores; and now, a planet whose oceans are going dark from lack of sunlight — possibly from geoengineering experiments cooked up by the same technocratic priesthood that once taught ethics from behind ivy-covered walls.
The truth is, the same elite institutions trafficking in nudges and necromancy now want to manage the Sun itself with aerosol mirrors and solar behavioral compliance. Harvard used to illuminate minds; now it’s blocking the literal sunlight — literally and figuratively. A once-Christian university, it now runs occult rituals in lab coats, darkening both the heavens and the seas in the name of science. It’s not just a decline. It’s a descent — an institutional Fall, wrapped in prestige, powered by grant money, and hurtling toward Revelation not with trumpets, but with budgets.
I’m sorry to say it, but Harvard’s destruction couldn’t come a moment too soon.”
Much more at
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/oh-harvard-wednesday-may-28-2025?
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FWIW – among “great moments in education”
“Great New Progressive Project in San Fran: ‘Grading For Equity’ ”
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/05/28/great-new-progressive-project-in-san-fran-grading-equity-n3803205
Now place your bets on which Oz “Education Department” will be the first to follow?
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There is a widely circulated fable that so-called “fact checkers” say never happened (because they can’t bear to have socialism criticised) but nevertheless probably would happen as described if this experiment was ever done. There are many variations of this:
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Exactly what happens in the aboriginal industry.
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All you need to know about it: first “indigenous” pieces of art were offered to public in 1971.
One good-hearted European shown the locals how to use their natural abilities, their heads and their hands for their own advancement.
Unfortunately, other no so good hearted men (and women) took over.
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FWIW
“Growth Mindset and Evil In the Guise of Good by Charlie Martin”
Explores
“This confusion is hardly limited to The Bell Curve vs Mindset. Oddly, for all the objections to The Bell Curve that were raised, the education establishment adopted the conclusion they spuriously ascribed to The Bell Curve — that non-white kids were constitutionally unable to learn like white kids.
This toxic assumption led to a whole host of pernicious effects. It’s the assumption underlying most affirmative action programs — that somehow some people needed extra privileges to make up for their inherent or imposed disabilities.
And there we come back around to growth mindset. If teachers, administrators, and educators start with the assumption that certain kids simply don’t have the capability to learn and achieve, that is a fixed-mindset assumption. And one of the things Dweck learned in her research is that a fixed mindset assumption on the part of teachers was just as harmful as if a student believed they weren’t capable of learning a topic”
“I think the real point is that anything that encourages a fixed mindset — whether it’s based in race or class or just damn stubbornness — is damaging.
The “anti-racist” approach, like so much of the “progressive” project, has or purports to have good intentions. But it appears these good intentions have paved the road to illiteracy and a permanent underclass it wanted to help.”
https://accordingtohoyt.com/2025/05/28/growth-mindset-and-evil-in-the-guise-of-good-by-charlie-martin/
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That was quick!
“San Francisco scraps ‘equity grading’ program — in which homework and attendance wouldn’t affect grades — one day after unveiling it”
https://nypost.com/2025/05/28/us-news/san-francisco-scraps-equity-grading-program-one-day-after-unveiling-it-amid-backlash/
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FWIW – sounds like progress
“Top 6 Vehicles with the Best Physical Controls
In an automotive landscape increasingly dominated by touchscreens, these six 2025 models stand out by prioritizing intuitive, satisfying physical buttons and knobs.”
https://www.autoblog.com/features/top-6-vehicles-with-the-best-physical-controls
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Nice to see the Honda CR-V makes the list. It’s why I chose one myself.
Now if they would just fix the neurotic ‘radar’ cruise control with a software update, I’ll be happy.
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FWIW
“NON-DRINKERS AS FREE-RIDERS:”
https://instapundit.com/722350/#disqus_thread
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Economically, so too are non smokers. Who else has to pay for their medical treatment before they get sick and rarely live long on the pension?
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“For centuries alcohol has served a social function. It helps people relax. ”
Our current-day non-replacement birth rate is probably a cofactor of the reduction in drinking!
20
In February I opened an account online with ChatGPT to do an evaluation of some math data processing, which it did excellently and quickly. The account cost about $35 a month that was deducted automatically like a direct debit.
Job finished, I started to unsubscribe. I could not find a recipe that worked. I asked Chat for advice on how to cancel out. I got nonsense word salad, but some email addresses. I sent an email stating they were not to deduct more payments. No answer so far.
I went to my bank, showed them a lot of the current paperwork and requested the bank noti make more payments. They refused, saying it was not a direct deposit but a debit card purchase. They said if I wanted to end payments, the only way was to cancel the existing debit card and issue another. I noted that it was my money and that it they refused me management of it, they were acting illegally, so a police matter. They are still refusing to stop future payments.
I went through similar problems a year ago when cancelling monthly payments to Britbox TV entertainment, but finally found the Double Bay NSW company behind it.
Have other readers found similar difficulties with cancelling monthly payments? Is there a trendy new scam of large size at work? Geoff S
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Similar experience with Amazon Prime. We subcribed for two months and then spent 4 months getting clear of their tentacles. We usually escalate via the financial institution, as most vendors pretty much ignore customers.
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FWIW – you’d like one?
“On ‘Self-Driving’ Cars
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The tech crowd is all buzzing again about “fully self-driving cars.”
Sorry folks, the goalpost has not moved. Yes, I know people want it to but it has not.
Let’s lay it out again:
I have to be able to get into the back seat with a six-pack in a cooler, a pillow, blanket and reading material, tell the vehicle to go somewhere and that must be lawful. That is, I can’t get a DUI because I’m not driving, the car is driving itself and therefore legally I am not in command of the vehicle. Incidentally this also applies if I’m legally blind or otherwise physically incapable of safely operating it, whether by disability or simple choice. Until that is the case the test fails.
Not only am I not required to purchase liability and collision coverage it isn’t my problem legally or financially if there is a crash. It is either the other driver’s problem (if there is one and he’s operating the vehicle) or its the car company’s problem and I — and anyone else struck or injured by the vehicle cannot sue me as the owner as a matter of binding law, they can only sue the other parties who are responsible. Further, if I am injured in a crash and the at-fault vehicle is operating autonomously operating the manufacturer of said vehicle is legally responsible for my injury and all of its costs whether I owned it or not. That doesn’t mean I might not buy theft insurance (although it should cost basically nothing since it would be essentially impossible to steal it without my consent) and comprehensive coverage (a tree can fall on it or hail can damage it) but until and less I am not legally liable for the operation of the vehicle and the outcome of same unless I am physically in the driver seat and operating the controls I do not need to have nor can I be held legally liable for what the vehicle does. As long as the liability is mine in any respect for what the vehicle does while operating “autonomously” this test fails and so does the claim, even more-so than being able to climb in the back and get sloshed.”
More at
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=253333
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The Royal Armoury in Leeds, presented by Major Wordsalad Bumblesnert
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_sjufr7YHuW1sjcnrz.mp4
😆
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Does Trump Understand What’s Happening In The War?
His Truth Social post over the weekend, in particular the parts I’ve bolded below, suggests he doesn’t:
I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia! Likewise, President Zelenskyy is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop. This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not “Trump’s,” I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred.
The Russian Missile Strikes Aren’t “For No Reason”
As Andrew Korybko pointed out, the Russian missile and drone strikes weren’t “for no reason whatsoever”, but were in retaliation for a series of drone strikes by the Ukrainians:
What’s really happening is that Russia ramped up its bombing campaign against Ukraine in response to Ukraine ramping up its drone one first, during which time Putin’s helicopter was almost downed after it was caught in a drone swarm while he was visiting Kursk last week.
And They’re Not “Needlessly Killing A Lot Of People”
And as Sergei Witte noted, the small number of Ukrainian casualties relative to the large number of Russian missile strikes indicates that the Russians actually aren’t trying to indiscriminately kill Ukrainian civilians.
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Why does Trump always speak like a child?
Bad people doing bad things…
Honestly!
Vote for Autopen in 2028! 😁
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Because he is Trump.
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He’s got to talk to democrats?
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Let us not pretend – what you see is what you get.
If you (and myself) expected miracles it is not his fault.
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“Trump declares, no US Visas for any foreign official who censors Americans”
Worth putting up with him over anything!!! Sure, he’s a loudmouth, egotistical, greed-focused, ignorant, definitely a non-politician, but dammit he does the right things!
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You would prefer an eloquent auto cue idiot like Obama perhaps?
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Probably one of the best recent assessments that I have read!
Why Ending the War in Ukraine Is So Difficult Now – 28/05/2025 – Connor O’Keeffe
As President Trump wrestles to deliver on his campaign promise to end the war on Ukraine by helping to bring about a negotiated peace deal, the effort has, in part, been undermined by an escalating exchange of kamikaze drones by both sides.
Much has been written on the decades between the collapse of the USSR and the rise of the Western-friendly Russian Federation and the eventual return of Cold War conditions encapsulated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There is plenty of debate about the details and consequences of decisions made along the way. But nobody with any real credibility is even trying to argue that this period was characterized by a lack of US meddling in Eastern Europe.
Virtually every major American Cold War strategist was vocally against NATO expansion because they saw it as a surefire way to unnecessarily restart the US-Russia conflict that had just miraculously ended without nuclear annihilation. But they were out-lobbied and out-maneuvered by the weapons companies that produce all the military hardware that new NATO countries are required to buy.
So NATO expanded, American military hardware moved east, and anti-government protests in countries aligned with Russia received funding and support from the American government.
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[snipped by half to reduce copied content to closer to 10%. Content available via the link – Raquel]
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Nor can it be argued that anyone, NATO or other, have ever threatened Russia. Russia is aggressively defending themselves against a non-existent threat. Europe’s right to defend themselves against a nation that has never been at peace with it’s neighbours cannot be denied.
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“Nor can it be argued that anyone, NATO or other, have ever threatened Russia. Russia is aggressively defending themselves against a non-existent threat. ”
Oh no H, you don’t get away with that! Just because you don’t have a reference for NATO threatening Russia, THAT doesn’t mean the threat is non-existent!
“a nation that has never been at peace with it’s neighbours cannot be denied.”
If people stopped invading Russia it wouldn’t be so bad.. Germnan Tiger tanks shelling Russians again. However, all part of the Great Game.
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What are YOU trying to get away with? You say NATO has threatened Russia with a cross border invasion but give no examples.
Russia invaded Poland before Germany double-crossed them and invaded. NATO has never threatened Russia’s territory.
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Well, it certainly occupies Russian thinking- After the West reneged on their promise not to expand NATO Eastwards, the Russians now want written guarantees before they will take their boot off Ukraine’s neck.
“The three Russian sources said Putin wants a “written” pledge by major Western powers not to enlarge the U.S.-led NATO alliance eastwards – shorthand for formally ruling out membership to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova and other former Soviet republics. Russia also wants Ukraine to be neutral, some Western sanctions lifted, a resolution of the issue of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West, and protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, the three sources said.”
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/putin-seeks-broad-security-agreement
When I again come across the American plan to break Russia into 15 small countries I will put it up for you.
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“People” is plural. You vaguely remember one threat that I have never heard. Funny thing is Ukraine will weaken Russia so much Siberia with Vladivostok will be ripe for the picking by China. China has no common interest with Russia long term.
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>NATO has never threatened Russia’s territory
Simply untrue.
NATO has been increasingly escalating threats on Russia’s territory for decades eventually piling up weapons of mass destruction right on the Russian border!
Russia historically stated it wanted a buffer between itself and NATO similar to the US Monroe Doctrine which justified the Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of nuclear war when US felt threatened by Russian missiles close to the US border.
After promising at the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 that NATO would not expand one inch eastward, many countries have been subsumed into NATO as part of its expansion eastward:
Czech Republic – 1999
Hungary – 1999
Poland – 1999
Bulgaria – 2004
Estonia – 2004
Latvia – 2004
Lithuania – 2004
Romania – 2004
Slovakia – 2004
Slovenia – 2004
Albania – 2009
Croatia – 2009
Montenegro – 2017
North Macedonia – 2020
Finland – 2023
Sweden – 2024
During that time Russia repeatedly expressed the desire to join NATO.
In 1990 Gorbachev suggested to U.S. Secretary of State James Baker that the Soviet Union could join NATO, stating, “You say that NATO is not directed against us… therefore, we propose to join NATO.”,
In 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent a letter to NATO indicating that membership in NATO was a “long-term political aim” for Russia
Again in 1994, and 2000, Russia expressed interest in joining NATO but was not invited.
The Nuland-led CIA destabilization and coup in Ukraine, (which followed Yanukovych’s decision to suspend an association agreement with the European Union in favour of closer ties with Russia), sparked protests which were quelled by a massacre. The coup installed a pro-Western government and pivoted Ukraine 180° onto a trajectory toward European integration.
These events, followed by the subsequent persecution of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, and the massing of nuclear missiles and biological weapons installations on the Russian border of Ukraine were way too many steps too far after repeated warnings by Putin that these perpetually increasing provocations would not be tolerated.
Eventually it was the Zelensky government bombing raids on the Russian-speaking Eastern Ukraine which finally prompted Putin to retaliate in protection of his people in Ukraine, by invading the ethnically Russian oblasts.
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Attention Mods:
The edit function is crippled.
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Suggestion:
Edit before posting.
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FWIW
Another “goes with that”
“Why Ending The War In Ukraine Is So Difficult Now”
Read it all to find why it concludes
“What the path out certainly does not involve is doubling down on the same exact policies that both created this mess in the first place and that are being championed by those who want to see this war drag on indefinitely in a vile attempt to use Ukrainians to weaken Russia a little bit more.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/why-ending-war-ukraine-so-difficult-now
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It is a good article-
“…the respect, admiration, and trust the American government enjoyed in much of the region began to fade away. That was accelerated when US presidents began working to expand NATO, the anti-Soviet military alliance, up to Russia’s border… NATO expanded, American military hardware moved east, and anti-government protests in countries aligned with Russia received funding and support from the American government.”
Yes, the Yanks are neck-deep in treachery and corruption in all the countries around Russia, cutely called “colour-revolutions”. However the brick wall that the West keeps running into is-
“it is unlikely that a peace agreement will be reached in the near future. Because it appears that Russia can achieve more if it continues fighting than through negotiations.”
..end of story. If you want a peace agreement you will have to actually LISTEN to what the Russians want, and write that into any agreement, or else they will just keep advancing, wiping out Ukraine’s future, and costing the West billions in very fancy, sophisticated and expensive weaponry that has no effect on the outcome of the war. How many missile engineers can the West afford to lose in Ukraine?
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Toronto, Canada are introducing a segregated, race-based homeless shelter for only one race.
https://x.com/ryangerritsen/status/1927865770198872426
And don’t forget in Australia we have some racially segregated national parks for which access is also race-based.
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Words of wisdom
“Sometimes you have to hit a fly with a hammer.
It’s not about the fly, but all the other flies watching.”
Putin needs to do this. 😉
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I thought that was what Yuzhmash was about.
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So NATO should hit Russia with a non-nuclear hammer. China and Iran will notice.
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Watched the first 2 episodes of Murderbot yesterday.
Quite good and look forward to the next episode and character development.
Based on the book The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.
A security android struggles with emotions and free will while balancing dangerous missions and desire for isolation, evading detection of its self-hacking as it finds its place.
7.3 on iMDB
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Meanwhile in Macronland: crazy euthanasia laws on the cards
French MPs are preparing to vote on a law that would legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide. In the final days of the parliamentary debate, as the proposal’s provisions were reviewed, some of the most outrageous articles were discussed and, unfortunately, many were adopted.
Deterring a suffering loved one from receiving a lethal injection could earn you up to two years in prison and a €30,000 fine. The penalty sought is even larger than the one for abortion.
Conversely, the symmetrical possibility of a ‘crime of incitement to euthanasia,’ i.e., the act of pushing someone to request death, has not been retained.
https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/french-mps-to-vote-on-one-of-the-worlds-most-extreme-euthanasia-laws/
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How Old is Macron’s Wife?
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That’s very funny. 🙂
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(72 in case anyone is actually wondering. 25 years older than Emmanuel.)
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Can still pack a punch. 😀
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Macron Wife Slap Face – Macron later expressed frustration with everyone trying to decode what he insists is totally standard behavior.
“We are teasing each other and having a bit of fun with my wife. I am surprised by this. It becomes a kind of… geoplanetary catastrophe where some are even developing theories, and I see a lot of crazy people spending their day explaining all these interpretations in videos,” Macron explained.
“There are people who watched videos and think that I shared a bag of cocaine, that I had a one-on-one with the Turkish president, and that right now, I am in the process of having a quarrel with my wife. None of this is true, yet these three videos are real.”
Oh, yeah – the napkin on the train to Ukraine that some folks mistook for a bag of cocaine. Maybe because Macron’s face looked a bit red as he snatched it up when the media walked in. Almost forgot about that one. Thanks for the reminder. Indeed, who hasn’t casually left a used Kleenex just sitting in the middle of the table with other folks. It’s a wonder that no one has yet speculated that Brigitte wasn’t just trying to give Macron one last hit of Kleenex before he stepped out of the plane. One for the road, as it were.
As for the “one-on-one” with Erdogan? That’s a stretch. Macron’s flattering himself. It was more of a one-on-none. Erdogan held Macron’s finger like he was selecting a baguette from a Parisian bakery. If dignity were Kleenex, Macron would have struggled to blow his nose on what was left – let alone use it for his next Kleenex Rorschach Test.
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Donnie gets a red card, but he’s appealing.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xgdj9kyero
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Many years ago I got to attend a soccer match between Newcastle and Sunderland.
The most common crowd chant seemed to be
“The referee’s a b a s t a r d “
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Gentlemen, you with your Trump distracted me.
I only popped in to say that after 50 years of hearing OF it, last night we actually watched Jesus Christ Superstar.
And it was great !
I can only imagine what revolution it was for 1972 audience
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Vladimir – Was that Live?
I saw the Harry M. Miller Production of the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which premiered at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in May 1972. The theatre, located at 3–15 Campbell Street in Haymarket, Sydney, was leased to Miller specifically for this production.
Trevor White (as Jesus), Jon English (as Judas), Michele Fawdon (as Mary Magdalene)and Reg Livermore (King Herod)
And I purchased the Original UK Tim Rice Production LP 1970 Double Album
However the Best Movie Version of Jesus Christ Superstar is the 2000 Jesus Christ Superstar
The 2000 film adaptation of “Jesus Christ Superstar” is a rock musical version of the Passion Play seen from the perspective of Judas.
It stars Glenn Carter as Jesus and Jérôme Pradon as Judas.
The film was primarily a filming of a stage production performed in London from 1996 to 2000.
While some viewers appreciate the modern take on the story and the performances, others feel it lacks the emotional depth and charm of the 1973 version.
Glenn Carter: He plays Jesus in the 2000 film adaptation. Some viewers find his performance decent, but others feel he lacks the emotional depth of Ted Neely from the 1973 version.
Jérôme Pradon: He portrays Judas in the 2000 film. His performance is mixed, with some praising his portrayal and others finding it less vocally strong compared to the 1973 version.
Renée Castle: She plays Mary Magdalene in the 2000 film. Her performance is noted for its fine quality and ability to shift between erotic spell and damaged idealism.
Fred Johanson: He stars as Pontius Pilate, known for his over-the-top performance and a “M. Bison” outfit.
Rik Mayall: He portrays Herod with a hilarious performance that still sends chills up one’s spine due to his facial expressions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EW03GCm74M&list=PLcjhIRNyAuvFZe2anv7CIk4PpaloSel7b&ab_channel=JesusChristSuperstar
Will give you a feel
I have purchased it on Prime and love it on my 83in LG G4 OLED TV
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PS if you have not seen the Original 1961 West Side Story, it is available free on youtube with ads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKu5-EPD978&t=1018s&ab_channel=YouTubeMovies
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We did, in a theatre with multi channel sound. Same theatre for 55 Days In Peking. Hearing the rockets fly overhead before exploding on screen was a brand new sensation.
Saw a local theatre group production Las Miz and liked it, walked out of the movie, not because it was bad but it lacked the “chemistry”. Our local Choral Society did Buddy and I was amazed how talented our singers are. Don’t go often but live performances can be special.
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Use Brave browser no ads
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Yes, Princess Theatre at Spring Street, not huge and I like it.
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I saw it live in Melbourne with Jon English on stage. We walked from Festival Hall back to the city
In a huge group singing at the top of our voices, it was amazing. I might still have the program.
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Gravy train exposed and the IPCC was wrong in making CO2 a pariah gas.
“All in all, and contra to the IPCC reports, there is insufficient evidential basis for the use of carbon dioxide, et cetera, emissions – taken together, the IPCC’s Anthro – as climate policy variables.” − Green and Soon, 2025
A new evidence-based study provides compelling evidence that for decades the IPCC has been engaged “advocacy research,” or the “antiscientific practice of undertaking research designed to support a given hypothesis.” (Notrickszone)
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The only time politicians tell the truth is when they call other politicians liars.
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https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/13-billion-renewable-projects-risk-vietnam-due-subsidy-cuts
Trouble in renewable Vietnam
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Trouble in Tuvalu and Vanuatu as well. Both island nations condemning Albos approval of north west shelf gas production claiming that the “emissions” will destroy their islands.
These very same islands produce most of their electricity by diesel generators. Oh the irony its ironic.
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As expected, the Germans were all for letting Ukraine loose with their Taurus missile to bomb anywhere in Russia, and Russia said the factory making the missiles in Germany will be fair game for a Hazelnut.
“Hubbub rippled through the commentariat today over claims that Russia could strike Germany itself as demonstrative retaliation for supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine. It was initially kicked off by one of Russia’s top political programs, where a notable military expert said the German arms factory responsible for producing the Tauruses should receive a visit from Oreshnik in response: ”
Of course if the UK military can launch German missiles, I would be unsurprised to find them doing that as another little swing at their age-old enemy.
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/putin-seeks-broad-security-agreement
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https://metatron.substack.com/p/are-climate-model-forecasts-useful
Use of models for attribution or forecasts – any use?
The study concludes that the IPCC’s models lack predictive validity and are unreliable for forecasting future temperatures, advocating for the use of out-of-sample forecast errors to evaluate model effectiveness.
Relevant also to El Gordo at 32
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FWIW – latest Tommy Robinson
“Tommy’s free – and still calling out the thought police”
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/tommys-free-and-still-calling-out-the-thought-police/
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