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
Not sure how many of our US friends come from the Lone Star State but you may enjoy this anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Q3VtJQzVg
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A fine ride, indeed.
20
Very entertaining.
20
Digital IDs Mandatory in Britain by 2029 –
“Mandatory digital IDs are coming to the United Kingdom by2029. Prime Minister Keir Starmer would like the public to believe that verification is a protective measure to curb illegal immigration. Digital IDs are a purely a CONTROL tactic. Once you allow the government to link every citizen to a digital profile, the next step is obvious and of paramount concern—linking that ID to digital currency and banking. You are no longer a free citizen but a ward of the government who can and will use your digital access to the world to track and control you.
The UK revoked free speech long ago. Comments deemed hateful result in jail time. A wrong “like” or post on social media can result in police knocking on the door. The government determines what is “misinformation” and “hateful,” and any transgression will result in punishment. That punishment will be felt immediately with the implementation of digital IDs. If you say something that displeases Big Brother, your access to society will come to a screeching halt. Due process and checks and balances are not necessary as punishment for suspicion is dealt instantaneously on a digital system.
Digital power enables government to eliminate your access to society—the ability to purchase, receive benefits, work, travel–without warning and it will be your responsibility to prove innocence. Millions of people living in Thailand now understand the power the government holds over them after digital IDs were linked to their ability to bank. The Thai government began freezing tens of thousands of bank accounts per week. Over three million accounts were frozen without notice or proper investigation. Shockwaves of panic spread throughout the nation. Businesses no longer wish to accept credit. Confidence in government and now the banks has been destroyed. This event occurred as a protective measure against money laundering, allegedly, but soon, governments will have the ability to deliberately revoke access to the system. We saw this happen during COVID when digital passports were implemented. China removed the people’s ability to travel to prevent a run on the banks during a panic.”
More at –
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/britain/digital-ids-mandatory-in-britain-by-2029/
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Hardly any of the cabinet are publicly supporting it, I think the idea will die when Starmer’s position finally becomes untenable.
160
That was meant to be reply to #2, digital ID.
30
You’d think in a ‘democracy’ politicians would like votes.
You’d think they’d notice when there were massive protests in the street against their polices.
You’d think they would be reluctant to then immediately after, start hard selling something really unpopular.
As if they’re not actually concerned about votes.
Of course here in America, ‘democrats’ also seem unperturbed about chasing away votes.
Are votes carbon?
10
Who needs votes when they own the counting machines?
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FWIW
“Flood Myths on Thin Ice: What Greenland Just Told the Modelers”
“The guardians of “settled science” have found themselves in another awkward bind. A new study in Nature Communications has discovered that Greenland’s ice sheet has been quietly defying the rules written for it by climate modelers. Instead of every drop of meltwater rushing downhill to flood the coastlines, as we’ve been warned for decades, large portions soak into the porous bare ice, freeze again at night, and never reach the sea.”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/09/29/flood-myths-on-thin-ice-what-greenland-just-told-the-modelers/
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Talk about a negative reality inversion (apologies to Neil from The Young Ones). Although rumoured to be burning / melting / boiling, the planet’s extremities went totally negative on the weekend:
North Pole / Arctic -6 C mean (parts were far colder)
Greenland Summit -33 C
South Pole / Antarctic -53 C & snowing.
Thank goodness it’s still liveable around the tropics.
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The modellers were also wrong on Arctic sea ice.
https://notrickszone.com/2025/09/27/2025-arctic-sea-ice-minimum-nearly-half-a-million-square-kilometers-more-than-2007/
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No matter how beautiful the model…
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FWIW
“Study: Wildfires in western U.S. play role in global warming”
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2025/09/28/wildfires-global-warming/4601759086366/
01
FWIW
“Change is a constant in the universe, but many oilfield services are feeling the brunt of it”
“This is the heart of the Viewfield Bakken, just two miles west of Stoughton with Highway 13 on the north edge. Count all the wells in this two-section block highlighted in yellow. Half of those wells cover the other side of the road. The remaining are within these two sections. It is now possible to essentially replace all of those wells with just one, singlular open hole multi-lateral with two mile-long laterals. And three mile-long laterals are on their way, which would add one more section. In this case, there are 23 lease pads within that block (not counting the ones on the north side of the road). Similar exposure to the reservoir can now be done with just one lease pad. Google Earth.”
More at
https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2025/09/29/change-is-a-constant-in-the-universe-but-many-oilfield-services-are-feeling-the-brunt-of-it/
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FWIW
Autoexpert John Cadogan has an epic spray over the electric and hybrid fire truck disaster inflicted on ACT all in the pursuit of net zero con. We are led by fools….but we know that. Link to YouTube later.
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Here you go
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YPNAdDlU98w
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Thanks
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Australia was among key allies of the US to recently recognise the non existent state of Palestine, with PM Anthony Albanese doing so at the UN last week. Just seven days later a plan for peace is announced that includes rebuilding The Gaza Strip. You would think that one of his political mates would have given him a “heads-up” especially since ex UK PM Tony Blair has been named as the “Tsar of Gaza”
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Was thinking the same thing. If anyone in Wongs department had made courtesy calls to any in the new US administration. You know set up diplomatic channels, because well, that’s their job after all. If that had been done and you could just “ring” someone (sorry, reach out) that contact may have said ” … gee, you might want to delay that announcement about Gaza statehood for a while, POTUS is about to make a big announcement “. But I suppose that doesn’t buy you votes in Western Sydney and Northern Melbourne suburbs.
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100,000 federal workers resign this week under trump’s purge plan, largest federal walkout in US history.
The cuts are targeted. Climate scientists, civil rights investigators, healthcare analysts, and regulatory staff are being told their roles are “not consistent” with Trump’s agenda. Agencies were ordered to submit reduction plans, prepare termination notices, and trim budgets. The Supreme Court signed off. No hearings. No debate. Just a memo and a deadline.
https://www.wionews.com/world/america-faces-largest-mass-resignation-of-federal-workers-who-will-be-affected-which-services-to-be-hit-and-why-it-matters-1759129099099
Paint yourself non-white and hop on a dinghy to the UK.
Golgafrinchams
100
TIMES GONE BY
When I went to school and started work in the 50’s /early 60’s life was quite different to today. For example:
• No credit cards
• All purchases in cash
• Interest fixed at the same rate across all banks
• No advertising for banks, insurers, lawyers or gambling
• No school excursions
• No TV or any ‘screens’
• No calculating aids (except slide rules and log tables)
• All wages paid by cash in an envelope
• Movie tickets were less than a dollar (less than ten shillings)
• No call centres
• Calls could be made direct to company managers
• Most phone calls by coin in phone booth
• No home invasions
• Limited bail and no bail for repeat offenders
• No recreational drugs
• Drugs via pharmacy only
• No weight loss drugs at all
• Very little obesity
• No ADHD
• No vegans
• No vegetarians
Life was a lot simpler then and we were quite happy with that.
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Sounds familiar , although we did have school excursions and TV in the period. Also,
No air conditioning
In the early part, very few cars
School army cadets carried rifles on public transport
You sent your kid to the shop to get a packet of ciggies
Schools taught useful subjects
90
We baby bomers, have had the best life!
The internet , like most other inventions, has its benefits but also has been used for evil. I think we were better of without it.
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Two things I recall about pay in the late 60s:
1. Pay was delivered to the premises as cash, along with payslips and two of the senior staff would put the money and payslips into envelopes, which would be distributed;
2. Most of the envelopes were sealed, but some were left open along with a blank payslip, for reasons not allowed to be mentioned these days
11
Adding to an illusion –
Back about that time there was an agricultural training course being run in Victoria, with plenty of “uneducated Queenslander” allusions.
One morning two of them were late for the tour bus. One happened to be at the room door and saw the runner being sent to rally them.
When he arrived they were viewing TV test patterns and telling each other what a marvel this TV was.
01
This popped up, just like last year at this time. F16s at Ukraine’s main military airbase.
“Two Russian hypersonic missiles struck Ukraine’s Starokostyantyniv airbase today, destroying five (5) US-supplied F-16 Fighter jets, an unknown number of British-supplied Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles, along with “Dozens” of NATO instructors and targeting crews. According to a Ukrainian Telegram channel from the site: “Everyone is dead, everything is destroyed, we are in agony. Everything on the base is burning.”
Nothing in a web search of mainstream propaganda, this was on-
https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/world-news/russian-missile-strike-destroys-five-f-16s-kills-numerous-nato-personnell
and
https://voxday.net/2025/09/28/a-real-russian-attack/
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They must have scrounged up a few washing machine computer chips.
11
Must have got a bargain basement bulk lot?
“Russia Begins Oreshnik Deployments; Zelensky Threatens Kremlin Leaders; Wants Moscow Missile Strikes”
https://rumble.com/v6zjnoy-russia-begins-oreshnik-deployments-zelensky-threatens-kremlin-leaders-wants.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a
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Nothing in a web search of mainstream propaganda, this was on-
So it may not be true.
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Its fake news put out by the FSB.
Over the years the base has been targeted successfully by drones and missiles, but not on this occasion.
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It’s a circular reference. The only report I’ve found references Vox.
Besides the US has never given any aircraft to Ukraine. Actually they have been stingy. The US contribution has included a LOT of obsolescent stuff that would have been due for expensive disposal soon any way. In return they have had an inside seat at an actual war and they are learning at the same time as Ukraine without experiencing any personnel loss.
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That is correct, the F16 were coming from other NATO countries. It seems highly unlikely that they would leave them exposed, no matter how good the defence umbrella.
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Look up the base on GEarth, it has plenty of hard-stand with revetments for individual aircraft so two missiles could not have taken out five aircraft. They would need to be parked wingtip to wingtip for that to happen.
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If it’s any help KP, GROK says it’s bull dust. 🙂
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The AI chatbot mental health crisis
New reporting by Wired, drawing on more than a dozen psychiatrists and researchers, calls it a “new trend” growing in our AI-powered world. Keith Sakata, a psychiatrist at UCSF, told the publication he’s counted a dozen cases of hospitalization in which AI “played a significant role” in “psychotic episodes” this year alone.
“We are witnessing the emergence of an entirely new frontier of mental health crises as AI chatbot interactions begin producing increasingly documented cases of suicide, self-harm, and severe psychological deterioration that were previously unprecedented in the internet age,”
https://futurism.com/future-society/psychiatric-facilities-ai
They were mentally ill to start with.
Just like when the film Avatar was released.
Psychiatrist couches filled with people wanting it to be real.
Just wait for real AI; you’ll have a major mental health crisis then…
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For people who do not have reasoning ability, AI chatbots would be awfully frustrating.
I find them far more interesting to engage than the CO2 bedwetters that visit this site. At least the AI chatbots readily admit when their training leads them to silly conclusion like CO2 causes global warming.
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Unitree’s “anti-gravity” G1 robot
Engineers at Unitree recently showed what their G1 humanoid robot can handle in a series of physical trials.
Instead of a calm lab demonstration, the robot faced a real stress test with kicks, shoves, and body blows. Each time it hit the ground, it managed to rise quickly, showing off a new system called Anti-Gravity mode.
This upgrade focuses on improving balance and recovery. The robot does not just fall and reset like older machines.
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/china-humanoid-robot-anti-gravity-mode
Boston Dynamics Atlas backflips and parkour are old hat.
/Just a teaser of what’s really going on beyond chatbot world.
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A really skinny dude in body armour.
I figure if it was AI generated, there would be no leg twitching when doing the back-flips.
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How interesting.
I wonder where the off switch is just in case it becomes sentient and gets a bit miffed about being physically knocked around so much by its makers.
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FWIW – out of where and when?
“The humans that roamed Australia 50,000 years ago”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raAKdLmKQho
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Denisovans may have been the first arrivals through New Guinea, around 65,000 years ago. This is hotly disputed.
https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2018/island-hopping-study-shows-the-most-likely-route-the-first-people-took-to-australia.php
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Read somewhere that while island hopping was a “most likely ” scenario, the travellers did not need to see the Australian continent, but likely new its location from naturally started bushfires that caused smoke plumes to be visible well above the horizon.
As always more questions and less certain answers.
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Trump’s Gaza plan: What it means and what could change – explainer
What is on the table?
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I reckon a ‘deal’ with the Palestinians is rather like my experience doing business in China: you have nothing till a contract is signed, at which point they will commence renegotiating the contract you just signed.
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Hamas is yet to release the hostages. Before the situation changes.
If that happens then there will need to be a rapid rise of new leadership to fill the void. Trump may be influential in getting that done quickly and with appointees he vetts.
Not confident that Tony Blair is a good choice for the peace board.
31
Not confident that Tony Blair is a good choice to empty the bins in Gaza.
30
Likely (though perhaps unstated) outcome
It is haram that a devout Muslim should be ruled by an infidel.
Not my original thought, as I read it many years ago.
10
‘After the hostages come home, Israel would release 250 prisoners serving life sentences and about 1,700 Gazans detained after the October 7 massacre, including women and children detained in that context.’
Sounds reasonable and should succeed, Donnie deserves the credit.
At the end of hostilities nobody knows how to create a lasting peace to satisfy Garzans and those living on the West Bank.
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FWIW – re the National Guard being sent into Portland
Via today’s Coffee& Covid newsletter
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/never-mind-monday-september-29-2025?
“Anyway, Oregon’s other arguments are more likely to grip, focusing on the use of military without a declaration of national emergency, such as in the case of an insurrection. But —haha!— in more delicious irony, Democrats will soon collide with the brutal fact that on January 6th, 2021, they re-defined “insurrection” to mean an unarmed, unplanned, unintentional trespass of federal property by political protestors. So.
Prepare for hysterical Democrats to deny that January 6th was ever really an “insurrection” in the “legal sense.” In other words, never mind again! ”
Double summersault with flop?
81
I like MacOS, been using it for a looong time but I need to get away from Apple hardware.
What hardware do I need to run linux and would the conversion be advised for an old phart who has no interest in anything with a steep learning curve?
One reason I ask is that my second mac keyboard has died so I’m using a Logitech one and suddenly I no longer need to recharge the batteries twice a week. The batteries went in 22nd of last month and are still going. I no longer bother switching it off at night. I’ve spent a couple of hundred $s on batteries and chargers. No need, ordinary cells would be cheaper.
10
Sounds like you just need an apple hardware upgrade. Bought a new desktop iMac 3 months ago and have only charged up the keyboard once, if that’s any help. Macs have their own chips now – moved away from out of house suppliers. New machine works flawlessly and is SO fast. Apps open in a flash.
00
When, for the third time, I found my Mac struggling to process files in Photoshop (every camera upgrade means larger and larger file sizes, plus Photoshop itself keeps growing), I decided that rather than hand an extraordinary sum of money to Apple once again, I would save around $2K and ‘revert’ to a Windows PC running more or less the same spec.
It hasn’t been a happy experience. I really don’t like Windows and I really miss my Mac display, but I simply cannot justify the cost of another Mac that can’t be upgraded should I need more power.
11
Hanrahan,
I have Samsung Note 8 Andoid for Mobile with 512Gb MicroSdxc Card as I hate Apple locking out extra Storage
But as my wife’s Early 2009 Imac which I had upgraded with 2 TB SSD was getting too old, I treated myself to Fully Loaded 27in 5k Retina 2019 iMac which through Apple Education cost $8.5K
as my wife’s Early 2009 Imac OS could not be upgraded, bought second hand 2020 27in 5k Retina with higher CPU and same 2TB SSD for $2.5K
Have a look at this site and go for iMac 27in 5k Retina superb
https://www.macfixit.com.au/collections/refurbished-imac-27
Plus looking at this for Wife’s Old Early 2009 iMac for Grandkids
https://www.macfixit.com.au/collections/display-driver-boards
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FWIW
“Michael Mann’s “Fire Hose” of Misinformation: Projection at Its Finest”
“Dr. Michael Mann is at it again.
In his latest op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle — melodramatically titled “I’m a climate scientist. Trump’s U.N. address is a fire hose of misinformation”— Mann plays the role of truth-teller, warning the public about Donald Trump’s supposedly dangerous rhetoric at the United Nations. According to Mann, nearly “every single word [Trump] spoke drips with mendacity.”
But when you peel back the grandiose framing, Mann’s essay reads less like the sober analysis of a scientist and more like the polemic of an activist. Worse, much of what he accuses Trump of doing — cherry-picking, exaggerating, revising history, and fearmongering — is precisely what Mann himself has perfected over the last 25 years.
So, if Mann wants to talk about “fire hoses of misinformation,” then let’s have that conversation. But let’s do it honestly.”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/09/29/michael-manns-fire-hose-of-misinformation-projection-at-its-finest/
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Americans can get Vit I and fenben legally in the USA.
An ad on a blog caused me to follow up, and this is their web site. Disclaimer I have no connection with them and cannot recommend them. DYOR.
https://allfamilypharmacy.com/
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Wow, up to 45 mg IVM tabs !!!
11
Well it was a bad news weekends in our local car club community. I think I need to hang out with younger people.
In the space of 48 hours we had:
One member pass away after a long medical battle
Another advice they had late stage pancreatic cancer
Another admitted to hospital with a heart attack (was pericarditis)
Two injured (one severely) in car accident when their car left the road to argue with some gum trees
Apart from that it was a good weekend
30
I spent my weekend photographing a ‘classic’ motocross event – essentially old bikes with even older riders. We had just one ‘serious’ incident, a rider in his 50s busted his collar bone. A few of the riders were over 70, two of whom were in their 80s.
I don’t know how those old guys do it. MotoX is very physical and those old bikes aren’t featherweights. I huffed and puffed my way around on two feet, burdened with cameras, lenses and various contranclements. I am slowly recovering.
50
Cis vs Trans
I am just reading an intriguing book called “Fat and Cholesterol don’t Cause Heart Attacks and Statins are not the answer.”
A lot of the book is devoted to TransFats. What does that mean exactly?
Turns out that unsaturated vegetable oils can be converted to partially hydrogenated fats which are solid at room temperature and are less likely to become rancid in storage (eg margarine).
Which sounds great and consequently these fats are widely used, especially in processed foods.
Unsaturated fats contain double bonds between some of the carbon atoms, which essentially prevents rotation around the bond. Partially hydrogenated means that some of the some of the double bonds are broken and substituted with hydrogen atoms but not all of them. When a double bond occurs in the carbon chain the adjacent carbon atoms can be both on the same side, known as Cis, or they can be on the other side, known as Trans. A trans bond causes a kink in the carbon chain.
So a trans fat has a different shape than a cis fat and that makes a difference to how the fat is metabolised or deposited in body tissues! Which may explain why consumption of trans fats is associated with worse health outcomes.
21
Once upon a time this was taught in tertiary institutions to students of various biochemical based courses such as medicine. Sadly chemistry and statistics seem to have been dropped in favor of gender studies these days.
40
Let’s go back to 2015.
https://joannenova.com.au/2015/05/cholesterol-how-the-web-and-books-are-years-ahead-of-consensus-and-govt/#comment-1714903
KinkyKeith
May 31, 2015 at 7:22 am
This post is good because it illustrates two important things for us; the first is that in studying the history of how the cholesterol myth was started and propagated we see a template for action that sent us down the wrong path for a long time.
Second is that, as some have stated here, cholesterol levels in themselves do not determine health.
Many years ago I read a book called “The Queen of Fats” which detailed the experiences of the Eskimos when moving from purely “in the wild” lifestyles to the urban environments of Scandinavia.
Health issues were related to cholesterol but the most important factor seemed to relate to the RATIO of the components of “cholesterol”.
Change in the ratio of HDL to LDL was seen as the issue. HDL at the time was seen as the demon component by the community (CO2?) but the book suggested that too little HDL could be a problem because it was needed to keep the body going.
Fish oil was recommended to help normalise the ratio and return levels back to what they were in the native style of life.
In both cases, Cholesterol and Carbon Dioxide , the story has always been there but just needed to be cleared of all the hype and hysteria.
KK
20
More from 2015, HDL as the solvent for the bad stuff in our blood.
https://joannenova.com.au/2015/05/cholesterol-how-the-web-and-books-are-years-ahead-of-consensus-and-govt/#comment-1715101
10
That was an interesting post from a long time ago (10 years).
Jo had this to say “
My own (ex) GP told me I was a walking time bomb because I declined his suggestion for statins and my cholesterol was just under 8!
People who question the consensus are still sidelined or cancelled. Dr MaryAnne Demasi was dismissed from the ABC for making an episode of Quantum about Cholesterol and Statins and has existed as a freelance journalist ever since. The reaction from the mainstream was so furious that the ABC cancelled the whole Quantum series!
30
FWIW
More expensive stories come home to roost
“YouTube Agrees to Pay Trump $24.5 Million (Plus the Future of Global Communications)
”
“The vast majority of YouTube’s settlement payment — $22 million — will go to Mr. Trump, according to the filing in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He has directed that the money be contributed to the Trust for the National Mall and to the construction of a ballroom at the White House…”
More at
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2025/09/29/youtube-agrees-to-pay-trump-245-million-n3807322
10
More importantly, in there also-
“Elon Musk’s SpaceX said Monday it will buy wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar (SATS.O), opens new tab for its Starlink satellite network for about $17 billion.. for direct satellite-to-smartphone connectivity without any terrestrial infrastructure. ”
So anyone with a Musk account can connect to anywhere in the world without a Govt being able to stop them.
“Consider the leverage. Need satellite connectivity for emergency services? SpaceX sets the terms. Want to ensure that your military has secure communications? Better maintain good relations with Musk. Hoping to regulate platform content? Not if the platforms route through Starlink…
This won’t end government, but it will shift the hierarchy of power. Nations without satellites will become what political scientists call “hollow states,” maintaining formal authority over territory and populations while lacking control over the infrastructure those populations depend on.”
All those under-16s with a satellite phone in five years..
10
FWIW
“Car Rolls into Lake After Massachusetts Karen Forgets to Put Car in Park When She Gets Out to Heckle ICE Agents Arresting Illegal”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/09/car-rolls-lake-after-massachusetts-karen-forgets-put/
31
FWIW
“Revolution Wind Is Barking Up the Wrong Tree”
“BOEM will likely appeal this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, raising interesting questions: What if this case should never have been heard by the U.S. District Court in the first place? What if that court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter? And what if the court that will hear the appeal—the D.C. Court of Appeals—recently ruled in a similar case that U.S. District Courts do not have jurisdiction over situations like the stop work order, but rather the U.S. Court of Claims has exclusive jurisdiction over cases against the U.S. government that are “essentially contractual in nature”? ”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/09/29/revolution-wind-is-barking-up-the-wrong-tree/
00
FWIW
“Trump’s UN Speech: The Climate Emperor Now Stands Exposed”
Concludes
“Like the boy in the fairytale, Trump has dared to speak the truth that others feared to acknowledge. The climate emperor stands exposed, and the world now faces a choice: continue to applaud the illusion or embrace the reality that affordable, reliable energy is the backbone of human progress. As Trump’s honey badger spirit continues to reshape global energy policy, one thing is clear: the days of the climate con’s unchallenged reign are over.”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/09/30/trumps-un-speech-the-climate-emperor-now-stands-exposed/
10
FWIW
“If New York wants to hand out CDLs to illegal immigrants with “No Name Given,” that’s on them. The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws. ”
https://x.com/GovStitt/status/1972737969594433871
https://instapundit.com/747787/#disqus_thread
10