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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Here is a video about how a naturally barren island (as documented by Darwin in 1836) was turned into a “tropical paradise” by the introduction of “invasive” (i.e. non-native) species. It is Ascension Island.
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Very uplifting, just what I needed this cold morning !
Seriously though – is it not the same with bipeds as with rabbits and banana trees?
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Most people here would be familiar with science commentator Dr Sabine Hossenfelder. Her popular YouTube channel is at:
https://youtube.com/@sabinehossenfelder
Aoart from her presentations about science, she is also critical of the way science is done. She is especially critical of the way taxpayer-funded research is done and has upset The Blob.
Now, I don’t agree with everything she says, and she seems to believe in the anthropogenic global warming scam, but in general her comments and sceptical views are excellent, including her criticism of string theory.
So The Blob has done this disgusting hit piece in her:
https://youtu.be/oipI5TQ54tA
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David Maddison,
Have you watched it? It’s pretty long (approaching 3 1/2 hours) and I haven’t watched it all, but have sampled the various sections (over the last hour or so at 1.75x speed). I found the interviews interesting. Each was introduced with an invitation to criticise Hossenfelder, but the criticism from the physicists was quite mild and brief and (IMO) supportable. Each then talked about his field. That was the interesting stuff.
The “hit piece” part was just the last six minutes which was entirely the work of the host and, with its childish attempts at ridicule, took away from his credibility (again, IMO).
Two points:
1. This “hit piece” landed no blows at all on Hossenfelder’s claim that huge amounts of money are wasted on big science. All it did was establish that big science has achieved impressive things. True isn’t it? The host brought together half a dozen talented and dedicated scientists who do research for the sheer joy of finding things out. That doesn’t prove that there aren’t large numbers of parasites who live the high life while contributing nothing.
2. Hossenfelder *is* an internet “personality”. Whenever you hear her speak, it’s wise to consider how much of what she says is influenced by what she believes her audience wants to hear.
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One thing about Sabine is that her opinion and beliefs are wrong a lot of the time, a fact that she admitted a few weeks back.
Entertaining though.
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“Protect Arctic from ‘dangerous’ climate engineering, scientists warn”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yqw996q1ko
Even the BBC reports doubts of ‘experts’ [Ex – has been; Spurt – drip, under pressure] about this ‘bright idea’.
“Plans to fight climate change by manipulating the Arctic and Antarctic environment are dangerous, unlikely to work and could distract from the need to ditch fossil fuels, dozens of polar scientists have warned.”
The polar scientists, presumably, know a bit about ice, or penguins, or polynas.
They seem very certain about atmospheric physics, and getting rid of the civilisation that sustains them, and – presumably – allows them to visit the ‘poles’, and be home, if not quite in time for tea, then certainly for their next fund-raising grant application.
Without walking hundreds of miles.
Or relying on sailing craft, which means ETAs are in the lap of the weather gods.
Auto
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On the subject of geoengineering, I wonder how UK’s experiment to make UK colder by blotting out the sun using stratospheric aerosol injection and marine cloud brightening is going?
I can see no news on the subject. Surely such a “worthy” and “well thought out” scientific project, presumably dreamt up by a politician, climate activist or subsidy-harvester, wouldn’t be abandoned?
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I’ve also seen no update, but if, by any chance, there was no scope for ‘shrinkage’ [of our money!] then it becomes pretty pointless for those involved.
And thus it might get ‘deprioritised’ or ‘find the permits needed are not so easily forthcoming’, or ‘be subject to a rapid enhancement review’ that kicks it into deep into the long grass.
But it won’t be ‘abandoned’.
That would suggest it was a mistake, and Governments [and Civil Services] do not make mistakes.
Ever.
If they did, people would want to find someone ‘responsible’ – and that would never do – it’s profoundly ‘Un-British’!
Auto
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Chagos surrender basis toothless, now Starmer reported to ICC.
https://order-order.com/2025/09/09/labour-admits-legal-threat-government-claimed-forced-chagos-surrender-is-bogus/
https://order-order.com/2025/09/09/chagossians-refer-starmer-to-international-criminal-court-over-surrender-deal/
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FWIW
“China’s Shenzhou 20 Launch on L.M.2 Rocket to Tiangong Space Station”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/chinas-shenzhou-20-launch-on-l-m-2-rocket-to-tiangong-space-station/
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FWIW
“Africa is pioneering nuclear innovation as it faces a dire electricity crisis”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/09/09/africa-is-pioneering-nuclear-innovation-as-it-faces-a-dire-electricity-crisis/
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FWIW
“WATCH LIVE: MAHA Commission Releases Explosive New Report on Children’s Health — Exposes Vaccine Injuries, Autism Links, and Plan to END Chronic Childhood Disease”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/09/watch-live-maha-commission-release-new-report-childrens/
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MORNING GRIDWATCH WED 10 SEPT
AT 7 AM AUSTRALIAN EASTERN TIME THE WIND WAS CONTRIBUTING 16% OF DEMAND IN THE EAST CAPACITY FACTOR 27% (AVERAGE)
AND 27% IN THE WEST
BEWARE If you think we are doing well when you see big numbers for the penetration of wind into the grid, you are looking through the wrong end of the telescope. Look at the weakest link in the chain, the lowest point of the fence, dam and flood levee.
Wind and sun will not carry the grid through windless nights because we have effectively next to no grid-scale storage. Don’t be impressed by the number of batteries being installed, do the arithmetic find out the cost to get through 16 hours with minimal wind and solar generation.
https://www.nem-watch.info/widgets/RenewEconomy/
TEXAS
https://www.gridstatus.io/live/ercot
3.40 PM WIND 13% SOLAR 41%
BRITAIN
https://grid.iamkate.com/
8 PM WIND 35% SOLAR 0%
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Nepal’s communist Government has fallen due to a failure of leadership and a ban on YouTube, Farcebook and X.
Now the leaders are fleeing the country.
I am surprised because Nepali people are generally quite peaceful and tolerant of hardship, from my observations.
See Mahyar Tousi video:
https://www.youtube.com/live/R8ZoryJ-OPY
It’s time for Australia’s communist Government to (peacefully) fall, and for the same reasons.
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https://imgbox.com/pEVOXYNM
Sorry DM. Couldn’t resist! 😆
/I’ve been resisting for months.
Peacefully?
Should I return my Ikea democracy repair kit then?
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Interesting fact: The Mexican Air Force has only a few 40 yr old+ fighter aircraft. The reason is that 1) nations to the immediate south have no air force, 2) there is no possibility of defending against the nation to the north, not that the US would want to attack.
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US is at war with drug lords in Mexico and Venezuela. Two boats destroyed.
Military action confined to sea at present but US marines preparing for seaborne assault and President Maduro (Venezuela), deploying troops to the coastal areas.
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Oh so the cover story for this oil war is drugs
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The US is the world’s largest oil producer. True, they import Venezuelan crude but that is because some US gulf refineries are optimised for the heavy crude.
How does blowing up drug boats get them more oil?
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The US import significant amounts mainly from Canada and Mexico. Venezuela has enormous ofshore reserves that would bolster long term supply with short supply line. Venezuela is friendly to countries the US doesnt like. But yeah, the armada is needed to blow up drug boats.
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FACT: The US is the largest oil producer, they are basically self sufficient. Refineries buy oil which suits their process and is close ie those in the north near pipelines buy Canadian oil, some in the south import heavy oil because it suits them
Venezuela has kicked foreign companies out and have not reinvested in their own production. This neglect is the primary cause of the drop in production. It is self inflicted.
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“It’s time for Australia’s communist Government to (peacefully) fall, ”
Then the politicians will learn nothing, they will think they have won and it is business as usual as they continue to lord it over us.
Nepal’s new Govt will be much more amenable to what the voters want and a lot more cautious about the usual growing arrogance of leaders.
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There are some thing you are not allowed to criticise, even if they are corrupt, illegal and dishonest!
“London: A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy showing a judge beating an unarmed protester with a gavel will be removed from a wall outside one of London’s most iconic courts, authorities said…Security officials outside the courthouse on Monday covered the artwork with sheets of black plastic and two metal barriers, and it was being guarded by two officers and a security camera.”
The excuse for removing it is that the building is heritage listed and can’t be modified. That doesn’t explain why they covered it immediately and had Police guarding the cover…
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/brutality-unleashed-new-banksy-on-court-wall-depicts-judge-attacking-protester-20250909-p5mth1.html
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Its a heritage building and they imagined someone would cut out a chunk of the wall and become rich.
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They should have just thrown a bucket of paint stripper onto it discourage any similar poorly concieved anti establishment crap.
..Then track down banksy himself and prosecute him for disfiguring a public building !
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What has Banksy done to you? His art is whimsical, not rebellious, as I recall.
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…and when someone is wanking on about how wonderful Australia and The West is with its fair and equitable system of justice, just remind them of this-
When a woman’s parents moved into a different home they had to take out a mortgage and borrow against her name, they were too old to have it in their names. She ‘owned’ the property while they lived in it for the rest of their lives. At inheritance time the ATO said it was her house and they want capital gains tax from it. As it was, the ATO took more money from the sale than she did, as the portion left was split between 4 kids.
However, the important paragraph was-
“However, the ATO decided that the daughter did not have enough proof that she held the house for her parents, further demonstrating the issue of tax law placing the burden of proof on the taxpayer.
The ATO can simply put its hands over its collective ears and say “we just don’t believe you”. And who can afford to fight the ATO all the way through the court system? You are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent.”
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/how-a-simple-mistake-cost-this-taxpayer-200-000-in-inheritance-20250909-p5mtkc.html
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That means the four children are inheriting $250k each, of which the one daughter has to pay $200k tax.
So either the journalist is exaggerating that, or the other three siblings are total rissoles for taking their $250k and leaving the other with all the tax burden and just $50k.
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Has anyone tried claiming the government as dependents on their tax return? 😆
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IIRC in some cartoons. Don’t know about real life
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I guess the message is to get competent advice and document what you are doing when you doing anything away from the norm.
I like the way the siblings shared the benefits and not the tax bill. Families; who’d have em.
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Only a day or 2 short of the 24th Helliversary of their previous back-stabbing foreign invasion, Mileikowsky the Madman, aka Beelzebub ‘Bibi’ Nutty-Yahoo (“given by Yahweh”) and his fellow tyrant, Yishra-el Katz, attempt to fulfil their tribe’s rabid, rancid, rabbinical prophecies dreamed up by their forebears while being held captive in Babylon, 600 BC.
Vengeance is mine, saith the twisted ones.
I’m sure most folk know some of the verses of Psalm 137 (popularised by Boney-M in the 1970s):
By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat down,
Yea, we wept,
when we remember Zion.
Yet how many know the final two verses:
O daughter of Babylon,
who art to be destroyed,
how happy shall he be,
that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Happy shall he be,
that taketh and dasheth
thy little ones against the stones.
Psalm 137, v 8, 9; King James Bible.
Sick… very sick.
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Looking at that Psalm in context it is not a call for literal violence but the Psalmist wrote it as an expression of the extreme suffering of the Jews in the Babylonian captivity and their yearning to return to Jerusalem as they plead for divine justice toward the Babylonians for the cruelty they imposed on them. The call for the destruction of infants is traditionally interpreted poetically to mean the extinction of Babylon as a nation state itself (as divine retribution for their crimes), not as violence against children. Ultimately Babylon was in fact conquered by Cyrus the Great and ceased to exist as a nation state and Cyrus released the Jews from exile to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple.
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“I’ve been taking care of goats for over 40 years now…it’s time I write a book to explain how life and the universe came to be.”
Better eat some shrooms first…
Hey, a talking snake! 😎
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Greg in NZ, #14 👍
____I look on the books of the Old Testament in a very different light these days.
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Israeli action last night proves that old world is dead – just stating the fact, do not look for condemnation or approval.
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Israel did a good job eliminating most of the top Hamas terrorist billionaire leadership who live in Qatar.
Billionaires from all the aid money they steal, including from Aussie taxpayers.
And Qatar is a major sponsor of Hamas and other terrorist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
https://nypost.com/2023/11/07/news/hamas-leaders-worth-11bn-live-luxury-lives-in-qatar/
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Mmmmmm and dont forget the large US Air Base
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“Northwestern’s Contract With Qatar Forbids School From Criticizing Regime”
https://hotair.com/headlines/2025/09/09/northwesterns-contract-with-qatar-forbids-school-from-criticizing-regime-n3806611
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Israel is being decisive, but other individuals will rise from obscurity to lead Hamas Tactically sound but geopolitically dodgy.
The US air bases are vulnerable even with the Defense Cooperation Agreement with Qatar.
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The road of history is littered with the wreckage of old worlds.
The wrecks are usually a group effort.
In terms of old worlds, the Israelis have not removed the mosques on the Temple Mount, and in fact maintain their security.
Upon a religiously significant site already twice destroyed by others.
One old world appears to have been a bit more willing to tolerate old worlds, until the other old world caused the most recent wreck.
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EU Censors German Police Boss’s Chilling 2050 Immigration Nightmare Post
(The invasion and fall of the EU: JC2)
What will Germany look like in 2050? The outspoken deputy head of the German police union (DPolG), Manuel Ostermann, published an excerpt from his book on X about what he sees as the perils of mass immigration. His post described Arab clans dominating big cities in 2050, Sharia law, child marriage, grooming gangs, and a host of other ills. Now, the European Union has censored his post from being seen across the entire continent in a major escalation against a public official, one who is considered one of the leading voices of tens of thousands of German police officers, and a voice frequently appearing in major German news outlets, including Welt and Bild.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/eu-censors-german-police-bosss-chilling-2050-immigration-nightmare-post
We “Kafirs” have almost lost the battle now.
Crime and drugs at record highs, native europeans spat on in their own towns.
France was once a beautiful place with cultured people but is fast becoming a nightmare.
The religion of Islam has changed over the millennia. Once peaceful, it’s now violent and intolerant.
TBP ran a piece 10 years ago on it:
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2016/06/15/islamic-history-lesson/
I hate to think what will it all look like by 2050, while the masses obsess over inclusion and net zero.
European cultures face oblivion.
Priorities and history, people.
Ze government censores ze police union…
Libraries, do you have any?
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Wednesday funny: starring Greta
https://twitter.com/EYakoby/status/1965382893171364020
Almost. Try again, point it straight up this time. 😆😆😆
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Age verification company exposes user data, reinforcing privacy fears over digital ID systems
France’s law requires that users’ identities remain concealed, not just from adult websites, but from the age verification services themselves.
Known as “double anonymity,” this standard is meant to ensure that those performing the verification process have no knowledge of which websites users are visiting or what content they attempt to access.
But AI Forensics found that AgeGO, one of the verification systems in active use, doesn’t meet those expectations.
Instead, AgeGO’s system reportedly transmits precise details about the user’s activity, including the URL of the video being viewed and the name of the website.
Oopsy!
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Extract from email from Senator Babet.
I think it’s fair to say that Australia is no longer a democracy.
And don’t forget all factions of the Uniparty including the fake conservative Liberals are in full agreement with the social media ban which has just contributed to the overthrow of the communist Government in Nepal.
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We don’t need US nuclear submarines.
‘Unmanned and undetectable, a fleet of AI-controlled robot submarines will bolster our defence capabilities amid growing regional tensions. And we’ll be building them en masse at a secret Sydney location.’ (Oz)
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Let me guess, Penrith?
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Playing catch-up with China and the U.S.?
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I think I’ve asked you before: How does a submarine [different to a semi-submersible] communicate and navigate?
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Meanwhile in Somalia
Two men who gang-raped and killed a 12-year-old girl in Somalia are publicly executed by firing squad chosen by girl’s father… who inspected bodies to make sure they were dead.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7991127/Two-men-gang-raped-killed-12-year-old-girl-Somalia-publicly-executed-firing-squad.html
Meanwhile in the UK…
” I’m a police officer. You can’t call me a muppet! You’re nicked mate!”
Whole of UK Googles “emigrating to Somalia”…
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Met Office accused of gaslighting.
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2025/09/08/hottest-summer/
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‘So, by definition, summer 2025 has come to an end. All in all, in the context of the last 30 years, it was by no means too warm or too dry. Will some media outlets learn from this when they produce “forecasts” with bold headlines (=clickbait) again, used for apocalyptic statements? The next winter is not far off, and the countdown to crazy weather stuff is already underway..’ (Notrickszone)
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Its not unusual at this time of year for the polar vortex to weaken.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/southern-hemispheres-polar-vortex-is-weakening–heres-what-this-means-for-australia/1890862
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Sweden’s new health minister collapses on stage on first day
https://x.com/news_az/status/1965455647249764730
Climate changeFakevax ™low blood sugar strikes again.A health minister with hypoglycaemia.
Groan.
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I was thinking about Steve of Cornubia’s post explaining the Govt’s plan to stop people over 60 driving after 10pm.
As it stands, its quite irrelevant as far as I can see, over-60s are unlikely to be out clubbing after 10pm, driving home from the bedroom of someone they met at the pub earlier, or heading to and from shift work in the middle of the night.
In Aussie AAMI say that in most States the over-65s claim for 26% of accidents, while the most dangerous time for crashes is between 1pm and 4.30pm. Of course they are only insurance claims, not total accidents, and if you back into a bollard in the supermarket car-park it counts the same as having a head-on at 100kph.
In the UK a 2018 study found the risk of a fatal injury were constant across time of day for drivers aged 70+.
The great lack of over-60s after 10pm, compared to 10am, will make the legislation worthless, unless it is just the ‘foot-in-the-door for banning more and more people from driving earlier and earlier..
As an amusing aside, AAMI found 20% of drivers turn off the annoying ‘safety’ distractions in their cars..
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Stop it.
This blog exists because of government inability to make rational assessments of data.
Second only to boobs.
Without boobs, and wildly entertaining clown car governments, we would have no internet, and still be emotionally dependent on CNN in airports.
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Well, over 60’s curfew goes hand in hand with Daniel Andrews’ lockdown curfew for everyone.
It was based on the assumption that Covid viruses (virii?) became more … virulent … after 8 p.m.
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FWIW
“THE WAR ON WORLD WAR II: Why False Revisionism Must Be Defeated.
Nearly a year apart from each other, Tucker Carlson interviewed guests Darryl Cooper and David Collum — “amateur” historians — who have erroneously circulated false narratives about the war, contradicting the story that the Allied Powers were entirely morally ‘good.’
Last summer, Cooper ignited a bevy of notoriety and backlash by claiming Winston Churchill was the “chief villain” of World War II for declaring war on Germany after the invasion of Poland. He even provided cover for Adolf Hitler. This August, Collum posited, “The story we got about World War II is all wrong” to which Carlson agreed, and even suggested the Allies should have aligned with the Nazis and fought the Soviet Union.”
https://instapundit.com/743439/#disqus_thread
“British Declaration Of War – 3 September 1939 – COMPLETE Broadcast”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcSnKArKz8E
Churchill wasn’t Prime Minister till 10th May 1940
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff2_churchill_pm.shtml
A Tucker fuster there!
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The problem with England allying with Russia is that Ru was not at war with Germany when they invaded Poland. I maintain that Russia was allied with the N@zis and had agreed on a division but Russian apologists, and there are millions of them, insist otherwise.
I will go with VDH for history every day.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact
It’s a historic fact neglected by many Communist sympathisers. Russia was aligned with Germany and had a secret protocol to divide Poland and Europe.
Stalin only turned when Hitler attacked them!
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Some interesting observations here:
What Victor Davis Hanson Doesn’t Say About World War II
https://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2025/09/03/what-victor-davis-hanson-doesnt-say-about-world-war-ii/
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