Tuesday

8.6 out of 10 based on 15 ratings

119 comments to Tuesday

  • #
    Honk R Smith

    As I stated in the last thread, it is great news that Duck Cheney is supporting the Democratic POTUS candidate.
    We can now enjoy cooperation between the right (which is far) and the totally reasonable left to find WMD, fight Climate Change, and protect gender identity rights.

    It is the unknown unknowns which make it imperative for us to control the population for their own safety.

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  • #
    Reader

    Greta Thunberg goes full in on Jew-hate because left politics is all one big blob
    https://nypost.com/2024/09/08/opinion/greta-thunberg-goes-full-in-on-jew-hate-because-left-politics-is-all-one-big-blob/

    I don’t know if Greta has yet promised that her environmental movement is one that will endure for a thousand years…

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    • #

      All over the BBC.
      Not.
      But they do have a 2007 wildfire, and some cute pandas at the zoo.
      And tonight they had Beyonce missing out on CMAs. And “Selena Gomez says she can’t carry her own children”, which is very sad for her, but, perhaps, not world news?

      Auto

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  • #

    Eat your Veg, and Save the Planet!

    By Dr Graham Pinn

    After reaching an impasse with fossil-fuel bans, the COP 28 conference in Dubai, moved on to a new climate and life-threatening target; the latest activists’ mission, to save the planet, is to stop us eating meat. It is apparently a win/win, with less land required for animal husbandry, and reduced methane output from cows. The conference, coming from the desert sands, discretely failed to mention that camels, although not ruminants like cows, have multiple stomachs and also produce large amounts of methane.

    This development is now being inappropriately incorporated into the National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) official guidelines, on the grounds of environmental sustainability, rather than human development; the NHMRC has no mandate to involve itself in environmental issues.

    As climate change fervour subsides, and the planet goes off the boil, our personal activities still continue to be curtailed by those “who know better”. We are told how to heat/cool our homes, how to cook, how and where to travel, what clothes we should wear, the list is endless. The latest, and most invasive is to tell us what to eat; the battle between the farmers (and we who eat their produce), and the bureaucrats has now commenced. This latest, politically correct ideology, has to be subject to fact checking.

    https://saltbushclub.com/2024/08/30/eat-your-veg-and-save-the-planet/

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    • #
      David Maddison

      The Left are already surreptitiously removing grazing land from service by smothering it with solar plantations.

      Wind plantations remove smaller amounts of land from service but affect local temperature. See https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1000493107

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      • #
        Bill Burrows

        Wind plantations are a blot on the landscape David. In Queensland they need to be planted on high ridge tops in the largely inaccessible sub-coastal range system from Toowoomba to Cairns. This is because we are closer to the meteorological ‘doldrums’ than the ‘roaring forties’. Because of the ridge lines’ steepness and lack of access these areas have been generally protected from development. Don’t tell anyone – they are magnificent habitat for protected flora and fauna – notably endangered koalas and greater gliders.

        The Clarke–Connors ranges between Rockhampton and Mackay are especially valuable in providing a refuge for these iconic marsupials. In 2023 Tanya Plibersek’s Department (DCCEEW) gave the Fitzroy Basin Association $4.5 million from the Australian Government’s Saving Koalas Fund to restore and protect koala habitat in areas of significant koala populations in the Clarke-Connors Ranges. At the same time DCCEEW is seemingly ignoring the concomitant destruction of the best koala habitat – situated in areas of the Clarke-Connors Ranges now targeted by Wind Farm developers such as Twiggy Forrest’s Squadron Energy!

        Join me in weeping for our country. For more info and startling images – Links: https://www.youtube.com/@rainforestreservesaustrali5016 [I recommend looking at the ‘Clarke Creek Vandalism’ YouTube presentation for a quick appreciation (3 mins)]; and visit https://www.rainforestreserves.org.au/ for more details of this group’s work.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    I regret to advise that my Mum, Jill Lillian Maddison nee Lipman born in Grafton, NSW, passed away in Sydney, NSW, on Sunday night 8th September 2024. She was 94. She was independent and healthy until hospitalised on Sunday morning and passed away peacefully.

    Here is her picture.

    https://www.facebook.com/share/p/8gJuXGMVYT9McB5t/

    Before marriage, from 1947 to 1957 she worked at radio 2GF Grafton and had an afternoon children’s program where she was known as ” Auntie Jill”. She also did other duties around the station such as maintaining the music library.

    Here is a picture of her from 1952 at 2GF.

    https://www.facebook.com/share/p/UexgmMnZmNkRJdxD/

    Here is the announcement of her passing from 2GF.

    https://www.facebook.com/share/p/ZiEEBB36mxfrP3x5/

    Here is a picture of her from about 1935 or 1936 when she was 5 or 6, presumably at an Empire Day celebration and an interesting early example of consumer colour photography (expensive then). This picture was not colourised then (with paint) or now (digitally).

    https://www.facebook.com/share/p/KkbrcGydQwNw9K3h/

    Mum was strong-willed and determined, right to the end.

    She was a fine lady and my brother Peter and I loved her dearly. She now joins her late husband and my and my brother’s father, David.

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  • #
    Tonyb

    Sorry to hear that David.

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  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – how to do it!

    “When the planet won’t follow your models, model a new planet.”

    “Our new paper published in WIRES Climate Change questions the logic and the opportunity costs of building a digital replica of the planet — inclusive of its human population.”

    (https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcc.915 )

    “According to our analysis, modellers have acquired a central position at the heart of the climate change discussion, and make use of this privileged state to increase their political standing and funding, putting themselves at the helm of the climate change narratives and making climate change itself into an all-encompassing meta-narrative, subsuming all ailments of humans and their planet, inclusive of wars, authoritarianism, migrations, and various forms of aggression to planetary ecosystems.

    The project of digital twins represents the pinnacle of this movement.”

    https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2024/09/09/y2kyoto-and-the-grift-goes-on/

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    • #
      yarpos

      havent watched the video, but it seems to me there is something very wrong with the western world’s so called leadership. Sunak, Starmer, Macron, Scholz, von der Leyen, Trudeau, Biden, Ardern (until recently) and of course
      Albanese. What would be the chances of this happening randomly? Look at the damage wrought to their countries over the last decade. Of course they are surrounded by the usual gaggle of incompetents that incompetents tend to select , or accept to cling to power.

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  • #
    RickWill

    Government incompetence in numbers.

    When Snowy 2 went forward as a project in 2018, it had an estimated cost of $3.8-4.5bn.
    https://arena.gov.au/news/snowy-2-0-feasibility-study-released/

    The study released today states the project is technically feasible, and estimated to cost between $3.8-4.5 billion. According to the project timeline set out in the study, Snowy 2.0 could be providing first power by late 2024.

    The estimated benefits had an NPV of $7.2bn. The project completion data was 2024.

    The estimate is now $12.1bn and the completion data is now 2028. Both of these will blow out substantially because another TBM has been ordered.to work on the headache tunnel. Last news on TBM Florence was that it was advancing again after completing 850m of the 17,000m headache tunnel.

    All this waste because the UN has fostered climate alarmism.

    Snowy 2 will never produce energy. It is an energy sink.

    Kogan Creek was the last coal fired power station built in Australia. The mine and power station cost $857m and is rated at 750MW. On that basis, $12bn would buy around 10GW of coal generation. Basically the cost of Snowy 2 could have replaced most of the ageing fleet of coal generators in Australia.

    Can you imagine any individual pushing the climate emergency ever admitting that they were wrong and complicit in this massive waste?

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    ‘PM’s class war’: Resources sector meets Labor head on

    The nation’s peak mining lobby has issued a bullish warning, accusing Anthony Albanese of deliberately bringing conflict to every workplace in Australia and threatening the economy through arbitrary environmental decisions.

    PM punches miners – then says ‘play nice’

    There aren’t too many sectors of the economy the Albanese government hasn’t now picked a fight with. But its notion of conflict resolution seems to be asking an opponent not to respond when it punches it in the face.

    Historian’s heritage pitch: ‘every creek, river is an Indigenous site’

    Lisa Paton who helped convince Tanya Plibersek that Regis’s $1bn goldmine at Blayney would destroy Indigenous heritage had earlier tried to register every river, creek, lake and swamp in the shire as an Aboriginal site.

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    Teals accused of aligning with ‘extremist Greens’

    The teals have been accused of siding with the Greens and voting overwhelmingly with Adam Bandt’s MPs since the election despite the left-wing party’s paltry support in former Liberal-held seats.

    New Muslim political groups are just “Teals in Hijabs”

    Nice one from Katherine Deves:

    ADH TV host Katherine Deves has branded the growing movement of Muslim-based political groups “Teals in Hijabs”.

    https://www.adh.tv/articles/new-muslim-political-groups-are-just-teals-in-hijabs-katherine-deves

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  • #
    Lance

    Very interesting animation. approx 1.5 mins.

    An Animation of Tectonic Plate Movement Over Millenia (1.8 Billion years )

    https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/27729/animation-tectonic-plate-movement-millenia

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  • #
    Lance

    Of interest to those concerned with Lupus.

    Case report: Severe systemic lupus no longer detectable after cancer medication treatment

    Systemic lupus erythematosus undetectable after 5 injections of Teclistamab.

    https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-case-severe-lupus-longer-cancer.html

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  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – underneath the headlines

    “Wayward Russian Drone Panic: NATO Members Launch Latest Desperate Stunt”

    https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/wayward-russian-drone-panic-nato

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  • #
    • #
      John Connor II

      Oh no! The magical saviour of Windows users, Linux, is under attack!?

      Actually, it’s holds the top spot for attacks, exceeding Windows, and has for quite a while.

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    • #
      Robert Swan

      another ian,

      IIRC, last time I saw one of your warnings about the horrors of systemd under Linux, it was a bit surprising to learn that you’d never even used Linux. I suggested you might like to try it in a VM under Windows. Have you given it a go yet?

      To clarify the warning, there has been a back door hiding in the xz compression library. The back door is aimed at openssh which might leave the system open to external access (if firewalls are lax, etc.).

      Probably not a big threat for most Linux users. Hardly serious enough to warrant an alert at a climate sceptic forum.

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  • #
    Broadie

    Big problem for everyone’s narrative including what Trump understands happened when he was shot at.

    Following the trajectory of the bullets and who was shot and in particular who wasn’t, there was a second shooter.

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    • #
      Broadie

      Excellent!
      We all agree there was a second shooter!

      There is no doubt the poor bastard in white with the white hat is shot then gets up to look where the round came from and cops another leaving him hanging by his hand from the railing.

      Luis Figueiredo, an Elizabeth Police Department, New Jersey detective and drone pilot, was surprised that drone surveillance didn’t appear to have been used. “You would think that these protection detail teams would have access to all this equipment,” Figueiredo told Forbes.

      Now we move to the presence of a drone controlled by someone in the AGR building from which the narrative claims shots were fired by a shooter at President Trump. Why is a drone controller in the building?

      10

  • #
    John Connor II

    Meanwhile in Germany: singing for self defense

    Berlin police withdraw advice urging victims to “sing loudly” while being stabbed by migrants: “It doesn’t work”

    Public backlash has prompted police in Berlin to withdraw an official recommendation that victims of knifings and other physical assaults in the German capital “sing loudly” as a form of self-defense.

    Since Germany has no Second Amendment allowing citizens to carry firearms for their own protection, the next best thing, according to Berlin police, is for people who are being attacked to fight back by trying to “irritate the perpetrator through unexpected behavior such as singing.”

    “A screenshot of our homepage has been circulating for a few days, according to which we recommend that in the event of an attack, you irritate the perpetrator through unexpected behavior, such as singing,” reads a recent tweet from law enforcement in Berlin. “This is recommended by the professional associations for psychiatry, among others.”

    https://www.stationgossip.com/2024/09/berlin-police-withdraw-advice-urging.html

    Wonder why psychiatry is a joke profession? Now you know.

    Maybe yodelling? 😆

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    • #
      Kim

      A small can of insect spray.

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      • #
        Lance

        Squirt gun. Water pistol. And……

        Habanero peppers .5 kg. Grain alcohol 500 ml. Puree in blender, strain through nylon stocking. Wear pvc or nylon gloves and face shield.

        100 ml DMSO. Dimethyl Sulfoxide.

        Aim and squirt. About 5 M on the scoville scale.

        Equals the effect of military pepper spray.

        Just a thought. Basic chemistry. Not advice or suggestion.

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        • #
          John Connor II

          Squirt gun. Water pistol. And……
          Habanero peppers .5 kg. Grain alcohol 500 ml. Puree in blender, strain through nylon stocking. Wear pvc or nylon gloves and face shield.
          100 ml DMSO. Dimethyl Sulfoxide.
          Aim and squirt. About 5 M on the scoville scale.

          Being a chillihead, my weapon of choice is Carolina Reaper.
          Habaneros are for kids.
          Why even add alcohol & DMSO?
          Chilli is enough for mere mortals.
          If you want to be extra nasty, spray their hands too. 😉

          20

    • #
      another ian

      Expecting an upsurge in choral activities in Ukraine?

      10

      • #
        Vladimir

        Check this song on YouTube “Буде Тебе Враже,”. I dare say I knew those girls from birth, they are generally softhearted, one has to beat them long to get such viciousness into them…

        00

  • #
    • #
      John Connor II

      Wow! Solved at last eh.
      Now…about that unknown US military base on a nice little island that knows the location of every plane in the air around the world, transponder on or not…

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    Trump’s Best Idea: Unleashing Elon Musk on Government

    The entrepreneur wants to run a commission on government efficiency.

    By The WSJ Editorial Board

    Donald Trump’s speech on the economy last week was as usual a jumble of good (deregulation and taxes), bad (tariffs), and incoherent (child care).

    But one new idea he floated is a very good one and deserves more attention: The former President said he’d ask Elon Musk to run a Government Efficiency Commission.

    Eyes understandably glaze over at the sound of “commission,” which is usually intended to duck a hard issue. The purpose in this case seems to be the opposite—to discover and highlight the countless ways government doesn’t work well, and suggest how to do tasks better, or perhaps not at all.

    “I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government,” Mr. Trump said in his speech to the Economic Club of New York.

    [SNIP]

    10

  • #
    ozfred

    Is anyone else seriously disappointed with the visual presentation changes in the ABC news web site?
    A lot more white space.
    A change in the order of presentation
    Elimination of a few sections and the addition of a few (mostly of little interest).
    But more importantly, the news sections for Western Australia and its local areas have been “gutted” with respect to the number of articles. And to “personalize” your experience you must logon to your ABC account. (No I won’t).
    While reading with a certain amount of political scepticism, historically I would find 6 to 10 articles a day which would generate enough interest to click and read.
    In the current form I am lucky to find three.
    Will your ABC be adding more white space to the evening television news soon?

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    • #
      John Connor II

      ABC you say…

      10

    • #
      RickWill

      Is anyone else seriously disappointed with the visual presentation changes in the ABC news web site?

      Would have absolutely no reason to notice. I have better things to do than being brainwashed with ABC propaganda. Let me know when they start providing factual news without the propaganda.

      I am far more concerned that their ABC gets government funding. How about letting them move to a pay to watch service like Netflix or Kayo.

      If they hired Peta Credlin and Andrew Bolt, I might actually pay to watch. I would also like to see opinion pieces from Tony Abbott.

      How much would you be prepared to pay to watch their ABC?

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    • #
      MichaelB

      I stopped interacting with the ABC, either TV, radio or internet, about 15 years ago.
      So I wouldn’t notice what they do, but thanks for reporting that.

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      yarpos

      No, I was terminally disappointed with the ABC some time ago. Nothing is likely to change, so they remain just noise.

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    • #
      MeAgain

      I think they couldn’t figure out how to lose the COVID header on the previous site, so went for a full re-design so no one would notice that they were quietly dropping COVID as an issue.

      Agree redesign is crap, but what I hate more are the stories that go into some sort of animation graphics at the background with lots of scrolling through images. The stories they try and visually add emotions to for you.

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr@RobertKennedyJr

    There’s been an inversion now where the Republican Party has become the party of the common man, of working people, of the middle class, and the Democratic Party has become the party of Wall Street, the Military Industrial Complex, Big Pharma, BigAg, Big Tech, the Big Banking Systems and all of what @realDonald Trump calls the Deep State.

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  • #
    John Connor II

    Tuesday wtf: how to carry glasses of beer

    https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_sji814HZmV1z23obp.mp4

    That’s talent!

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    • #
      OldOzzie

      Wife & I went to the Stuttgart Beer Festival in September 1970 (were travelling aound Europe in Blue Harry Potter Ford Anglia, camping with a 2 man Pup tent- Having flown Standby with Car on British Air Ferries from Lydd to Le Touquet – Airline Staff), Locally known as Cannstatter Volksfest, it’s another German beer festival not to be missed. Some say it’s even more fun than Oktoberfest.

      In the Beer Tents were Signs in English “The Unauthorised Removal of Beer Steins is Theft”

      As you can see from the Picture in https://www.thirstyswagman.com/german-beer-festivals/stuttgart-beer-festival-2024/

      the Beer Halls are Huge!

      As neither my wife or I drink Beer, but we wanted to buy some Beer Steins as a souvenir, we had trouble convincing them that we just wanted to buy the Steins without Beer.

      Food, Entertainment, Atmosphere was excellent & yes Busty Young Ladies in Dirndl (“This is a traditional(ish) dress over a white blouse of varying styles, topped off with an apron.”) carried a Huge Number of Beer Steins delivering to Tables.

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      • #
        Lance

        Berlin, 1982, backpacking through Europe.
        Having a beer at a Gasthaus when a group of drunk businessmen got “handsy” with the waitress.
        She was carrying 6 steins.
        Smacked him in the head with those steins, up over a table, and didn’t miss a beat.
        Amusing to say the least.

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      • #
        Steve of Cornubia

        “… were travelling aound Europe in Blue Harry Potter Ford Anglia …”

        Yay! I rallied one of those in the late 70s, by which time they were hopelessly outclassed by the Escorts. It was ex-works, built as a ‘chase car’ and for doing recce work rather than competing. It had a pre-crossflow 1500GT engine, bored out to just under 1600, various internal gubbins such as Lotus conrods and hot cam plus twin Weber carbs. It wouldn’t tick over much below 2000rpm, especially if all four Cibie spotlights were illuminated 🙂 Add a few suspension and brake upgrades then chuck in a roll cage and – Voila! You had a noisy, not-very-fast, cumbersome yet beautiful little thing that I loved to bits, right up until I wrote it off 🙁

        I often dream about buying another one, but they’re ridiculously expensive these days, like most classics. Also, I’ll trade a car in rather than refill the washer bottle these days so a classic wouldn’t survive long in my garage.

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        • #
          OldOzzie

          Steve,

          We were in London for 9 Months posting & bought the Anglia, as it had low miles, in theory having been owned by little old lady, but had to replace with Short Motor, buying Engine Hoist from Halfords – replaced in Garage, that came with our rental, with help of Mate, also on posting. (Engine Hoist flew back to Australia as part of luggage)

          After that went like dream, all around UK, Land’s End, John O’ Groats and then France, to Madrid, across to Coast then up Spain Coast & French Coast to Ialy, then up to Zurich Airport to park on Sunday Night – Flew to Heathrow to work 5 days, then back to pick up Anglia, Friday Night, to contiue through Switzerland to Salzburg, Vienna, back through Germany and WW1 Track to Le Touquet for Standby British Air Ferries to Lydd. – Flew one way at 1,000ft and back at 2,000ft

          Anglia had the sweetest gearbox, a joy to use and the motor great pick-up and great little handler especially on Gravel Roads in Spain.

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  • #
    Philip

    Anyone see the professional victim on ACA last night? She’s the one who caused Alboriginal problems when he appeared at the women’s violence march in his white sneakers.

    https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/what-were-you-wearing-australia-questionable-practices/8f0d7a4d-9c72-49fe-b856-8ce074ae34ae

    Hilarious. She is not only a victim of sexual violence, but white violence on aboriginal women too! The royal flush. And, scamming money from the charity she runs. But best of all, receiving awards all over the place.

    An excellent example of a narcissist. I actually fell in love with her as I was watching. She’s beautiful.

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  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – another one to watch for

    “War On Agriculture”

    “Research out of Tufts University three years ago created the Food Compass—a new guide to what is healthy that rivals the Food Pyramid for sheer lunacy. Advising us that Froot Loops and Pringles are healthier choices than meat and eggs, the authors of that research are now promoting ESG + Nutrition, in which their Food Compass informs governments and private enterprise on how to get the population of the world to follow along.”

    (https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00381-y )

    More at

    https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2024/09/09/war-on-agriculture-11/

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    Censors Unmasked: Flaherty, Gottlieb, and Slavitt

    By Brownstone InstituteBrownstone Institute

    Censorship, Pharma, Vaccines

    Each revelation of the Biden administration’s censorship regime tells a familiar story: government authorities, inextricably intertwined with corporate interests, bludgeoned social media companies into purging dissent.

    They used regulatory code (Section 230), the power of the Intelligence Community, and financial incentives to demand subservience from ostensibly independent corporations.

    So far, Elon Musk and his purchase of Twitter have been the one formidable resistance to this regime. Mark Zuckerberg’s recent letter to Congress denouncing the Biden administration’s censorship campaign may suggest a turn of the tide, as he vowed, “We’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.”

    On Tuesday, Alex Berenson published an article detailing how the Biden administration, through lobbyists and threats to repeal Section 230, successfully banned him from Twitter for his skepticism toward the Covid vaccines.

    The report suggests that Dr. Scott Gottlieb – a Pfizer Board Member and former FDA Commissioner – coordinated censorship efforts with the White House and its medical advisor Andy Slavitt. Gottlieb and Slavitt repeatedly forwarded links to Berenson’s tweets and articles to Twitter executives demanding they censor the inconvenient reporting.

    On August 27, 2021, Twitter had a call with Gottlieb to discuss a tweet in which Berenson said that the Covid vaccine “doesn’t stop infection.” A Twitter lobbyist passed along the tweet to company officials, writing “I escalated the violative tweet based on a report by former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, with whom [a co-worker] and I spoke yesterday afternoon.”

    Berenson then received a “permanent ban” from Twitter (though it was later reversed after a judge denied Twitter’s motion to dismiss his subsequent lawsuit).

    This evidence will be of great use for Berenson, who is suing the White House, President Biden, Gottlieb, Slavitt, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla for orchestrating a public-private censorship campaign against him. While the Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue their case in Murthy v. Missouri, Berenson has emails proving that he was the focus of the censors’ campaign.

    At this point, however, the story is not surprising to anyone who has followed the censorship industrial complex.

    It is now clear that this campaign was led and orchestrated by a small group of unelected bureaucrats who determined that free speech and the First Amendment were subordinate to their ideological and corporate pursuits.

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    OldOzzie

    This arrived yesterday morning at 0932

    Experience the Best of France & Italy in All-Inclusive Ultra Luxury

    We invite you to embark on a breathtaking 49-day river cruise and Scenic Eclipse ocean voyage. Taking you from Bordeaux’s picturesque vineyards and medieval villages to Italy’s Mediterranean coast, where ‘la dolce vita’ awaits. Experience the rich history and charm of Amsterdam, Basel, and Zurich along the way.  

    This extraordinary journey, departing 6 May 2025, offers an immersive exploration of Europe’s finest treasures. All whilst indulging in Scenic’s signature all-inclusive ultra-luxury. 

    Book now and create stories for life in 2025.   

    At $36,995 per person which was touted as Saving of $15,000pp

    Book Now repliesPage not found The page you have requested could not be found as does Learn More

    Obviously Money in Dem Dere Boomers!

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    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      I have never taken a ocean cruise and have no plans to ever do so, but there is something even worse to me: the ‘river cruise’. How on earth they manage to sell such things beats me. Why would I pay good money to slowly chug up a river (they go very slowly so as to avoid traveling very far, so I am reliably informed) aboard a glorified barge? Some friends, against my advice, took such a trip a couple of years ago and came back with horrendous tales. Apart from the surprisingly-short itinerary that wasn’t obvious from the map online, with some stops almost within walking distance from each other, the layovers in supposedly quaint towns were spoiled by the other ten boats’ worth of fellow travelers in each place. They even had to walk through several other ‘luxury barges’ to get ashore, all tied up together.

      The final straw came when it was found that the river was too high for the boat to get under a certain bridge and so the passengers had to decant into buses in order to reach the last two stopovers.

      Nope.

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      • #
        RickWill

        I have had two pleasurable canal cruises in Europe.

        One was in a canal boat from Oxford. You could certainly walk as fast as the boats were permitted to travel to avoid heavy wake that disturbs the shoreline. But learning to operate locks and bridges was good fun. Just two of us on a 50ft boat with three cabins made life quite comfortable.
        https://www.collegecruisers.com/somerville/

        Over the five days we spent on the barge, we got very good at going through the locks and opening bridges. My wife would stay on the boat and steer in and out of the lock while I operated the gates and valves.

        At early evening we would moor up near a pub and have a nice meal before going back to the barge for a night cap.

        The second was in France with a group of 11 people we knew. It was a crewed barge. It could go a bit faster than walking pace and I did a lot of walking just for the exercise to burn off the food and wine intake. I would catch up by the time it got through the next lock. Lots of interesting stops. One of the crew had the job of getting the mini bus from stop to stop to take us for our tours away from the canal. Each day there were always fresh bread and pastries from a local bakery. Breakfasts and dinner were usually on board and all seated at set time for dinner.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29fErx1POiY

        I place river cruising in small numbers in Europe ahead of ocean cruising on large ocean liners. It probably helps if you know the other people. But we met other people cruising that cruise to make new friends. I met one English widow in her late 80s who did a canal cruise every year for about 15 years. The Seattle to Glacier Bay cruise was also memorable because there is not much boring open ocean The Spirit of Tasmania is about as long as I can take on an “ocean” cruise and is my preferred way to get to Tasmania.

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  • #
    Ireneusz Palmowski

    Northern Australia may have a wet summer.
    SOI values for 9 Sep, 2024
    Average SOI for last 30 days 9.95
    Average SOI for last 90 days 0.84

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      Greg in NZ

      Northern hemisphere cyclones, typhoons & hurricanes are well-below average this year – despite predictions and Mannerisms™️.

      Via tropical.atmos.edu Colorado, Indian cyclones & NW Pacific typhoons & NE Pacific hurricanes are below average in number, intensity and ACE, whilst Atlantic hurricanes are exactly spot-on ‘average’.

      It’s hard to predict the future…

      10

      • #
        el+gordo

        I’m sure the climate high priests said there won’t be so many big winds, but there will be more intensity in those that do arrive.

        Just the other week there was one of these ‘super’ typhoons which hit China.

        02

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    David of Cooyal in Oz

    A bit of real truth telling…
    From the Sunday Telegraph 8 September, on page 23.

    ” $4.7bn turned into $800m”

    Labor announced a domestic violence package of $4.7 billion as a great new package, but when challenged conceded it was only $800 million of new money.

    40

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    FWIW – a”Walz inspection”

    “To some people the post I’m about to write is going to read like it’s about Tim Walz, the current Democratic vice presidential candidate. But it isn’t. It’s about how disconnected from reality our political and media classes have become.”

    https://x.com/esrtweet/status/1833171101146374460

    20

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  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “Trump was Right: Countless Lives Could have been saved with Hydroxychloroquine”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/sponsored-post/trump-was-right-countless-lives-could-have-been-saved-hydroxychloroquine

    40

  • #
    Steve of Cornubia

    Reports coming in say that Ukraine has attacked Moscow with a “wave” of drones. It doesn’t sound like a huge amount of damage was done and, so far as I can tell, they only hit residential buildings. Nevertheless, this is a significant psychological assault and I wonder how Putin will react. It will be interesting to see how Russians in general react, given that we’re told that Muscovites hadn’t previously been particularly concerned about a war happening far away and involving only ‘small town’ Russians.

    20

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW –

    To borrow from Sarah Hoyt at instapundit “Prepare your shocked face”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkPoBxozm7c

    00

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