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
Interesting article on relative crime prevalence between the USA, Australia and Canada that provides a different perspective on the perceived notion that America has higher crime than most other developed nations. That said, it is based largely upon crime victimization surveys rather than actual reported crime statistics, so I’m not sure how much stock to put in it. I’m teetering on the edge of ‘worth considering’ and ‘not much at all’. Regardless, it’s an interesting take.
The one thing I do buy with great certainty is that crime is grossly under-reported everywhere and that crime statistics should be treated with the similar skepticism to crime surveys. The hope is that the truth is somewhere in the middle, so you should consider both.
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/07/09/mythbuster_us_much_safer_than_many_peer_nations_1193400.html
There is one crime statistic that visitors to the USA might want to keep in mind if worried about crime ….
… and even within those 2% of counties, most of the county is perfectly safe. You just have to avoid the neighborhoods with obvious markers of a high crime area (boarded up storefronts, tents on the sidewalk, broken windows, excessive litter [especially drug paraphernalia], etc).
20
I’m getting whiplash in regards to how the war in Ukraine is going. Half the articles I read claim the Ukrainian drone program is wreaking havoc inside Russia and it’s only a matter of time before Putin breaks. The other half claim the drone strikes are certainly doing damage, but are having little impact on the direction of the war. I have to wonder if both types of article are being written by propagandists for one side or the other, and neither type contains much truth.
https://unherd.com/2026/07/the-ukraine-wars-big-lie/?edition=us
One thing I am certain of is the expectation that Russian’s will fold when the going gets tough, rather than doubling down, does not hold up to even the most cursory inspection of Russian history. If Putin loses power, it won’t be to a moderate who wants to end the war. It will be to a hardliner who wants to bomb European weapons factories supplying drone parts or outright nuke Ukraine.
20
Is it true that Police in Western Australia are invading
the privacy of drivers (and probably in other situations as well)
by using Face Scanning Technology?
Is 1984 finally here?
10
Muhammad and its variations was yet again by far the commonest boy name for UK babies born in 2025 the latest ONS report shows. Almost 8,600. Unsurprisingly there was not one single Kier; you would really have to hate your kid to do that to them.
30
The U.S. National Academies of Alarmism are holding a webinar to celebrate the release of their “study” on attributing bad weather to human interference.
https://49197025.hs-sites.com/join-our-webinar-attribution-of-extreme-weather-impacts?ecid=ACsprvsK1B17WYkAyv-TXbbBgoE2Z05O7kNiBRFlC3Ltx9AkEIUi-lxWvrin-FF49XOZr8AsbdzQ&utm_campaign=34319986-CHPP%20Events&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8_CCC-HFn4KhAEaHZCllbI-tf78TfbuZK1kx9ueHrzfR2hVAF0K-PoJDbNYalENa9uVPKMCpBe-zU6P8oTeqQY22Frpw&_hsmi=427322972&utm_content=427322972&utm_source=hs_email
Could be fun.
30
Meet James Talarico, a Senate candidate in Texas who is a ‘preacher’.
https://x.com/LoneStar_PAC/status/2074926996291825775
Believe it or not, that is very similar to what I believe. But the difference is, I don’t pretend to be a practicing Christian, much less as shepherd to a religious flock. I was raised Catholic and went through all the sacraments expected of a child in the church, but am a natural-born skeptic and never found faith. I could never wrap my head around a God who would condemn the 3/4ths of the world’s population who aren’t Christian (or the 9/10ths who aren’t Catholic) to the pits of Hell, and left the church once I became an adult. So to me, Talarico’s take is perfectly reasonable.
But to actual Christians, it is heresy. Jesus made it very clear in the scriptures: “i am the way, the truth, and the life. no one comes to the father but through me.”. No self-respecting Catholic or Evangelical Protestant would defend such a statement as the one made by Talarico. Neither would most Mainstream Protestant denominations. I guess he is from some obscure Universalist offshoot that specializes in heresy and seems to contain so many allegedly religious liberals who favor abortion, assisted suicide, gender theory, etc.
I can’t for the life of me think of why this guy wanted to lean into his status as a preacher, when his beliefs are so WILDLY out of line with the overwhelming majority of practicing Christians. He should have stuck with calling himself what he is, a secular opportunist who picks and chooses the scriptures he finds convenient, twists them to his purposes, and discards the rest (like the soul).
10
So why all the fuss, fighting ,killing & general chaos when they all work for the same boss???
Maybe the boss should be sacked???
10