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
Linda McMahon bodyslams Harvard.
https://x.com/EDSecMcMahon/status/1919569106644107696
Harvard has the right to set it’s own HR policies, including DEI, but it does not have the right to receive continued funding from the federal government through grants. That is a privilege that comes with strings attached, and can be revoked.
Of course, if Harvard sticks with that position, it can kiss it’s reputation as a research university goodbye. Why would any STEM faculty member stick around at a school that can’t get research grants? Academics is a publish or perish world and it’s hard to publish groundbreaking work when you have no way to fund that work. Why would any STEM student attend such a school after all the STEM faculty have fled to greener pastures and/or where they themselves cannot build their skills and resumes by doing scut work on well-funded research projects?
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Any university that promotes DEI recipients over the best for the role is bound to lower the standards that it once had.
That fact alone should render them as a second rate educator. With regard to selecting your next employee, Harvard has prestige but you would have doubts in your mind if the candidate actually passed all their exams and submissions or was waived through, (assuming they may have met one or more DEI requirements).
Does that mean that only white, christian males have a true Harvard degree and all others are lower rate? Will recruiters be taking that into account or will they just impose a long and onerous trial period on to any new recruits, all potentially leading to the discovery of ineptitude and a loss of employment. New graduates often make the odd mistake, corrected by their peers or supervisor and they learn from the experience, with an extended probation period, will they just be canned, DEI as the excuse?
Harvard used to be a quality educational institution, now it’s fading/faded into Didn’t Earn It territory. It’s like an Indian university doctorate. It’s printed on paper but it’s not worth much.
But they sure did pay for it.
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Just heard a new term on the 6 am news. The article was on how Australia had achieved between 30 and 40 % electricity supply over summer from “renewables” thus driving down prices from coal and gas generators. It then broke down the “renewable” supply by wind, solar, hydro and, drum roll please, BATTERY GENERATION.
It appears Australia has found the holy grail, batteries that generate electricity.
“How many fingers am I holding up Winston? “
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The scientific and technical ignorance of the Lamestream Enemedia (and others) is simply staggering.
That’s because the Left have been deliberately dumbing-down the schools for decades now.
They really believe that batteries generate electricity. And that windmills and panels generate useful and inexpensive electricity. Just like they want you only to see the number of fingers Big Brother says you can see.
We should all be like Winston Smith:
Let’s get science and reason back into schools.
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Maybe O’Brien was born polydactyly and it was hidden from everyone with gloves.
The fault was actually with Winston for refusing to acknowledge what his eyes ‘see’ once the gloves come off.
Similar.
Maybe Bowen was born intelligent and it was hidden from everyone by his ‘thick as a brick’ deeds.
The fault is actually with the electorate for refusing to acknowledge what they ‘see’ once they meet him.
Are we all being led astray, like Winston or is Bowen really just thick.
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The Australian election was still a puzzle, especially the popularity of the Labor party with young voters.
Was it saving the whales? The cost of electricity? The war in Ukraine? Gaza? Climate Change? Donald Trump threatening to acquire Australia? Tariffs on lobsters?
Then I noted Peter Dutton’s policy.
He actually promised to send workers back to work! No more not working from home.
Everyone knows that they have to go back to work, eventually. But for a politician to promise to make them to go all the way to the office every day is a death sentence, for the politician.
In a country where you can win absolute power with only 1/3 of the voters, it was more than enough for a landslide. What was he thinking?
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And that policy only applied to federal public serpents who have been working at home ever since the start of the plague.
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Therefore, not a single vote lost.
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I note you used the words, “….working at home….”, would you care to offer some proof of that?
I could simply show you the number of well dressed, working age, persons in the supermarkets during the day as my proof that not all workers are actually ‘working’ during the day. What have you got?
also note that you probably see the world similar to myself and have already come to the same conclusion that it’s a rort. And you probably know that the rort has to end before it becomes the norm to have three paying jobs, all consuming the same 9-5 period.
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“especially the popularity of the Labor party with young voters.”
Clearly explained by Jo’s other post today on school indoctrination! I never realised it was so bad, if an old fart tried to explain the truth to these kids they would just roll their eyes.. They are lost to reality completely.
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The West (except the US under TRUMP) has lost its way because they have forgotten the basics of the free enterprise system that generated so much wealth in the West due to small government and economic freedom. Whilst never fully or perfectly implemented it was and still is the best economic system we ever had.
In 1980 Prof. Milton and Ross Friedman wrote their classic popular book “Free to Choose” and in 1981 made their popular ten part video series by the same name. It described how the free enterprise system worked and addressed any criticisms.
I think the voting masses and especially politicians and senior public serpents need to be reminded about the basics of free enterprise and the book and/or video should be desired reading or viewing for all.
In fact, in the 1980’s I was involved as a volunteer in a Sydney Libertarian book shop and think tank, Centre 2000, where we advocated for personal and economic freedom as espoused by Milton Friedman and other classical freedom thinkers such as Nathaniel Branden, Murray N. Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, Herbert Spencer, Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, Frederick Hayek, Thomas Sowell, John Locke, Frédéric Bastiat, etc..
We sort of started getting towards smaller government and more economic freedom in the 1980’s under Reagan in the US and Thatcher in the UK and the smaller deregulated government movement even had some influence in Australia.
But after those great leaders it went by the wayside as Elites demanded their subsidies and restrictive trade practices at taxpayer expense and politicians sought to purchase votes with “free stuff” and that has been happening ever since, only to be corrected by TRUMP in the United States. Big Government and limited personal freedom are powerfully advocated by the Left who are deeply embedded in all Western institutions and which are a source of their great power.
We need to return to smaller more efficient government and more personal freedom. As long as one does not infringe upon the rights of others (life, liberty and the right to own property) one should be more or less be free to do as they please.
The video series is free online at:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt27lKoC5LS4wbD28Jkv95UUm9H7wbVO4
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I propose that government rorts are dictating the size of the government.
As an example, let’s say that 100 senators want kick backs to supplement their lifestyle choices. You can’t have a small government where one agency sets up a new office with 100 CEO’s, who all happen to be the spouses of these same senators. The scheme would fall apart, even the media couldn’t hide that.
BUT….. if you set up 1000 new departments all with pleasant sounding names, then it becomes a simple task to ’employ’ 100 senator’s partners, ensuring that the money flows as required. And guess what, those departments are established by those same senators. And to keep the system rolling on, you make another couple each year, welcoming the new members to the fold.
And when the system is audited by the new Dog(e) in town, all hell breaks lose.
Employment based on nepotism instead of merit. We all KNOW why that isn’t illegal.
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The Temple of Thieves!
The hill upon which all forms of government die.
Let us hope the competition between states, judicial positions and all levels of administration enshrined in the US constitution allow ‘We the People’ to maintain their freedoms and curtail the excesses of the swamp.
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India ‘has attacked’ Pakistan.
‘Targeting terrorist camps’.
Pakistan will respond at a time and place of its chosing.
Interesting times, I guess.
Auto – glad that the UK has, under successive Governments, cut waste, bolstered its defences and weaned people off ‘free stuff’!
Does that seriously need a /SNARK!! ?
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Was that in Birmingham or VicDanistan?
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To counter the Leftist indoctrination of children in schools it might be worthwhile establishing some sort of “critical thinking children’s club” or TV or online show (or meetings) where children learn and participate in various critical thinking, pro-science and pro-reason activities.
Thoughts?
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I keep thinking that Gina Reinhardt could do some good by buying up a defunct TV channel (like CH-10)and run kids education programs early mornings and early evening then continue on late evenings with reruns of politically incorrect shows like Two Ronnies, Open all Hours, Benny Hill, ETC.
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It would take a lot of subtle planning, it would be the instant target of every outraged Teal Karen, every bureaucrat and every politician in power. (and out!) They would have the censor stomp on it, refuse broadcasting licences, have ASIO investigate everyone behind it for some meaningless infraction twenty years ago and find dirt somewhere to release explosive child-molesters accusations in every news media.
The fakenews-spotters would have a field day, the Left would retaliate with their own propaganda programs even more extreme than the ones they run now. We would have their version of the Hitler Youth running around within months, kids in Climate Superhero T-shirts beating up the Disgusting Deniers Club members.
When the majority of society “support” (do not act against) climate alarmism, you know every one of those will be your enemy.
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The other day I was at a friend’s place for dinner and two of the guests were a young couple, mid-twenties, the man being an executive employee of a major university.
The topic came around to dogs and their breeds and both thought different dog breeds couldn’t inter-breed because they thought they were different species.
And that was a professional couple in professional positions.
I don’t think you have to be a dog expert to know such things.
I couldn’t believe it.
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I bet they vote Greens/Lab too, this low/no information is more widespread than you think.
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Another couple that you should be crossed off the gene pool, encourage them to each get a tattoo inside their ear, (they’ll never work out what it’s for).
It works for stray cats and dogs, why not humans.
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They must’ve thought the word “cross” in a dog’s description meant it was a very angry type of dog.
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Copied from Farcebook, comment on a video:
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TRUMP has discharged the transgender Admiral Rachel Levine, former US Secretary for Health of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
They wore a uniform and military title because they were part of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps which is a uniformed service.
COPIED from Farcebook:
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Good work by Trump.
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“Working against the fundamentals is an existential imperative to keep the markets elevated until the first signs of success. ”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-05-06/slow-ride-ii-michael-porter-returns
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This can be a problem:
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I was recently hosting my sister in law and her husband for a few days. The topic of global warming raised it’s head and she was adamant that the world is getting hotter and has never been hotter, (for human beings?). I mentioned the Roman warm period, the Minoan warm period, etc and it all went to the keeper.
It seems that the ABC just don’t teach that little detail anymore.
I never bothered going on to the exposed corals in the cliff faces around the world. For her it was enough to realise that people WALKED to Oz to seal the deal that sea level only ever rises.
So…. where do you start. The obvious answer is why bother. It’s not getting in, it’s not going to stay there and the ABC will over write whatever facts she gleans.
And they vote. Thankfully they don’t run with scissors, (Play School tells them not to).
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The old adage still holds true, never argue with idiots, they will only drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.
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Get her to look at ‘Capricorn Caves’ a limestone cave complex about 24 km north of Rockhampton, it is a 400 million year old coral reef, well inland from the current ocean shoreline.
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The germ of an idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while now on how to counter the leftist lean in western education. Ideally it should be scrapped and replaced, but in the real world we need something of a more pragmatic nature.
The kernel of the thought is to have packages of information that add to the existing curriculum and fill in the blank spots, and probably a whole new section on how we think; confirmation bias, group think, propaganda etc. At 64 I’ve haphazardly come across loads of information covering the spectrum from fascinating; science and history, to appalling; in that some facts were hidden so well and for so long.
There is almost nothing taught on how to get ones brain to work better, memory and logic,or the narratives spun by countries/governments/organisations using skewed history, or how to figure out if something is true or false, good or bad.
Sadly, planning and executing any such scheme is well above my pay grade. I can however stand on the side lines and cheer voiciferously all who attempt to halt and reverse the sad decline of the West.
Fantastic work Jo!
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Reeding, riting and rithmatic is a good start.
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Those who quote the ‘three R’s’ are obviously illiterate, there is only one ‘R’ at the start of each word.
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The liberals tried to win back the teal seats at the expense of 30 or 40 other easily winnable seats. They ended up winning back a single seat from a teal independent on a tiny margin, so have they achieved one of their goals now? Is this a win?
Maybe next election they can sacrifice another 40 seats to win back another teal seat, and end up on 2 seats! Another win!
Obviously this stupid logic seems to be their actual way of thinking
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Today’s Australian has the Spooner cartoon showing various Labor members
doing a Victory Dance Saying No doubt that Israel is a genocidal coloniser Or silly worries about national debts
Or stupid questions about cost blowouts or blackouts.
Sadly I think this is probably true of the euphoria among Labor ranks including public servants. Will time change this? Yesterday I was told that debt wasn’t a problem, we’ll just print more money. Like Zimbabwe?
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For the next election, if the government promised to print more money and give every household $100,000 the population would vote for them in a flash. The feel of a few thousand crisp new $50 notes will make them happy beyond all measures, and the government was re-elected in a landslide never seen before.
After the election, to keep everyone happy, they up the ante, and instead make it $1M. Surprisingly, all the new rich don’t go to work the next day. Not even to restock the champagne fridge. They’d be no need to work ever again, they’d all be rich.
To simplify everything, the government don’t actually print the money, instead they create a bank account for everyone and deposit the money in that instead. It saves a lot of printing. Sounds fair.
Even simpler, the government create a SINGLE massive bank account, filled with $1M for everyone in Oz and then allow the money to be drawn down, like a wage, each fortnight, (let’s make it the same rate as the dole). Anyone see where this is heading?
And still the people would be happy. All because the government gave them all enough money to be unemployed.
I should run a political party. I think the greens are looking for a new leader.
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Politics is the dirtiest business in town.
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Years ago I was in Sweden where the Socialist Government was issuing all sorts of payments for all, especially those apparently worse off.
Some were happy, others tried “gaming the system” and the rich had their assets overseas.
Most worked out that not reporting income meant more largess, by using the ‘black money’ scheme i.e. cash only unreported.
That’s why those in Canberra want to ban cash usage.
Eventually the system crashed.
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