JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
Jo appreciates your support to help her keep doing what she does. This blog is funded by donations. Thanks!
Follow Jo's Tweets To report "lost" comments or defamatory and offensive remarks, email the moderators at: support.jonova AT proton.me
Statistics
250
Another failed Dire Prediction. How many more before the penny drops?
200
But they carefully said could not would so not a prediction just a scary story. The distinction is lost on most. An effective deception.
181
Why would the penny drop? The doomster story is headline news when it happens, movies are made. How much MSM coverage will this get? zero and the usual suspect search engine will make sure it isnt accidentally found.
20
I Honk, predict that establishment science will be integrity free by 2030.
The passage through the brains of Academia will be open to commercial traffic year round.
310
Still might happen by 2027? I read a mathematician blog in about 2015 that predicted 2026 we would see the ice free summer. Getting close now, and that summer ice is getting lower according to the Denmark modelling of ice volume. We shall see. But one thing I do not do, is predict.
41
You give us a prediction then say you do not predict. Why did you post?
06
The mathematicians prediction. Not mine. I was simply relaying what he said. I’ve been waiting to see if he is right or not since then.
30
Reform-the political party headed by Nigel Farage-now has more members that the Conservatives
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/12/26/nigel-farage-hails-historic-moment-as-reform-memberships-surpasses-tories/
These days most people don’t join political parties so whilst significant what really counts is how many people will actually vote for them and whether they dismember the Centre/right wing votes leaving Labour to squeak in.
161
I’m surprised Reform don’t try and lure Labour votes with a suitable platform. They seem to be solely competing with the Conservatives. It was those Labour votes that got Brexit through.
10
AI is a huge consumer of power. I am at a loss as to where it will come from
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/12/26/2025-the-year-of-the-gigawatt-ai-project/
Whether we want to make ourselves ever more dependent on the digital world-ripe for hacking and failure–is another matter
100
It will take a decade or two to build that generating capacity so that is the AI development timeline. They do not seem to know that. They should ask their AI products.
101
From Perplexity:
Answer
Based on the search results, the construction time for a new Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant in the United Kingdom typically takes around 3 to 4 years.
The Keadby 2 Power Station project, which is an 840MW CCGT plant in England, began construction in 2018 and entered commercial operation in 2023, indicating a construction period of approximately 5 years. However, this timeline includes the entire project development process, not just the construction phase.
For the Keadby 3 Low Carbon Gas Power Station Project, it is estimated that construction would take approximately 3 years, followed by a commissioning period3. This aligns with the general timeline for CCGT projects.
It’s worth noting that the total project timeline, including planning, permitting, and construction, can be longer. For instance, the Drax Combined Cycle Power Plant, which is still in the permitting stage, is expected to be commissioned in 2023, suggesting a multi-year development process1.
The construction time can vary depending on factors such as project size, location, and specific requirements. However, a typical timeframe of 3 to 4 years for the construction phase of a new CCGT plant in the UK can be expected.
70
Yes construction time of 3-4 years but first come design, funding, permitting (which can take 5 years), and procurement. Construction is the easy part.
Back around 2000 the US brought about 200,000 MW of gas fired capacity online in a few years but they started over a decade before and fossil fuel was not evil, just coal.
31
They don’t seem to mention what the cooling load is, unless it is all combined.
20
Another vital cable cut
https://www.yahoo.com/news/finland-seizes-ship-carrying-russian-201118591.html
Over the last week a Russian and A Chinese ship has each cut one of these vital pieces of infrastructure. What can possibly go wrong as the worlds oceans are liberally sprinkled with cables carrying the wests power and communication?
130
Undersea communications cables are vital although obviously vulnerable.
It is illegal under international law under the auspices of the Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables of 1884, which is still in force, to damage submarine cables.
They are cheaper and faster than satellite communications and have far more bandwidth.
About 99% of all overseas internet traffic goes via undersea cables.
I wrote an article about them.
https://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/2024/December/Undersea+Communications
120
When it comes to hurting Russia, laws go out the window…
10
When it comes to China and Russia hurting the West laws are there to be broken.
Fixed.
34
Lets say altered. I would suggest that Russia and China are more compliant than the Outlaw Empire, but it is a low bar
80
Water must be shallow there… Story is that both dragged their anchors where the different cables were.
Much easier than blowing up a gas pipeline, lets see how far Putin’s revenge goes.
00
How is it that ‘government statistics’ show that:
Over the twelve months to the September 2024 quarter, the CPI rose 2.8%
But, according to this news report, over the past 2 years or so:
– egg prices have gone up 28.6%;
– bread is up 22.7%;
– milk and cheese are up 20%;
– fruit is up 20.4%;
– cereal is up 20.2%;
– insurance is up 34.1%; and
– international travel and accommodation are up 50.7%?
220
Everyone I know who does their own shopping knows that the Government is lying about inflation. Most estimate the true rate is 25-30%. The fake conservative Liberal faction of the Uniparty never say anything about this although recognition of this would be a vote winner.
190
Obviously, the base data has been seasonally adjusted and homogenized.
120
It makes you wonder WHAT went down in price to allow the government to claim an average rise of only 2.8%.
If they figured that the state government sponsored power bail out was a negative rise, then when the bail out ends, will they exclude the electricity from the equation or will they include it, prompting a rise in CPI of well into the 10’s?
120
Wine costs less. Lots of bargains and good wine under $10 per bottle.
Diesel costs less. I paid $1.77 per litre this week. It has often been above $2 per litre since 2021..
10
Two steps forward one step back, that’s how it’s done and everyone thinks they’re winning!
20
Perhaps the increase in house prices has made us all millionaires and that has offset the CPI.
20
The fanciful way the gnomes of Cantburra calculate CPI bear about the same connection to reality as do the unemployment figures.
190
My latest research on silly renewables stuff:
“Habitat destruction offsets for “renewables” are just indulgences”
https://www.cfact.org/2024/12/27/habitat-destruction-offsets-for-renewables-are-just-indulgences/
The beginning: “A bad idea is emerging in the “renewables” world, namely that projects can buy their way out of destroying natural habitats. The wind and solar projects still destroy the natural habitats they are built on but they fund a magic wand that somehow supposedly creates new compensating habitat someplace else. Not really.
The fallacy here is that every acre in America already has a habitat. You can change an acre’s habitat from one form to another but not create one. It is a zero sum game.
There is a long standing, highly specialized development offset program that helps make the point. This is wetlands protection under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Wetlands are deemed to be so special that filling one in for development can be offset by creating one someplace else.
But if you convert dry land to wetland you have destroyed the dry land habitat. So the amount of habitat destruction is not reduced, just the amount of wetland destruction.
The supposed renewables habitat destruction offset does nothing like the 404 program. The renewables developer simply pays to have habitat created someplace else which is impossible. For reference these programs are often called Biodiversity Offsetting which sounds nice.
Such a program might create habitat somewhere that matches that destroyed by the renewables project but that requires destroying the present habitat of the offset site. For example creating a woodland by destroying a grassland. Or vice versa, bulldozing a forest to create a grassland. This might even mean destroying farmland.
Clearly this is nonsense. It is a form of indulgences, which means paying for sin, in this case the sin of habitat destruction. Because solar and wind certainly destroy the habitat they are developed on.”
Lots more in the article. Please share it.
171
Perhaps they are working on the Catholic principle, a dozen Hail Marys, then proceed as normal.
90
That’s exactly what it is.
60
Have you noticed us getting more and more SCARY STORIES?
Here’s one just released about an hour ago.
Earth is at risk of being turned into another Venus if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels (supposedly).
https://youtu.be/fT2GYKzAWSk
90
With all the carbon dioxide in the air and the greening well underway, we could be at real risk of entering another carboniferous period.
Is that a bad thing?
Maybe all the continents will form a new Pangaea, all lumped together. What will that do for the hurricane forecasts? And beach holidays…. who could afford that, less beaches, higher demand, this could be a bad thing.
Of course, before everyone jumps on board, throwing barbs or additional points of clarification. This obviously won’t happen in my lifetime. So who cares? Maybe that’s what Bowen has in mind, the blackouts won’t happen in his lifetime so who cares. With this in mind, is it wrong to pray for blackouts?
130
Entering another carboniferous period wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing although we wouldn’t get any more coal. And oxygen might be much higher making for uncontrollable fires.
We won’t get any more coal because back in the day, plant matter accumulated to make coal because of a lack of lignin-digesting fungi, but these have now evolved and will prevent future accumulations of plant matter and thus coal.
90
No one is taking any notice, so like a spoilt brat demanding something, the volume goes up and up.
40
New scary story from Queensland.
And notice the word “mutant”? Most new strains of viruses are mutants. It’s meant to evoke imagery of Creature from the Black Lagoon and similar.
I see no mention of correcting vitamin D deficiency in people or the use of ivermectin according to appropriate protocols to improve outcomes. Just more defective mRNA “vaccinations”.
170
Likely they’re just ramping up the completely discredited nasal swab testing on everyone presenting with completely unrelated conditions. Can’t find a pic or CV of Dr Heidi Carroll anywhere. Hmmm.
50
Heidi Carroll on superbugs:
https://youtu.be/U-bF0mPwr_E?si=SPwi2PXrrHoxSKMa
She’s been with Qld Health since 2014, formerly with UQ as a senior lecturer since 2009.
GAICD at Australian Institute of Company Directors
Fellow at Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine
Juris Doctor – JD at University of Southern Queensland
Fellow at Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine
Master of Public Health – MPH at The University of Queensland
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery – MBBS at The University of Queensland
Would you like her phone, email and other info too? 😎
00
“We can halt the momentum of this COVID-19 wave if people ensure their vaccinations are up to date, especially our most vulnerable, stay home if they are unwell and practise good hygiene.”
BWAhahahhahahhahahahah.
121
Sorry Ronin, I accidentally red thumbed you. Was meant to be a green.
41
Oh, I thought you might be displeased with me. LOL
30
Covid 19 continues to mutate, obviously. Despite the warnings of Geert Van Den Boscche, there has been no solid evidence that the mutations are becoming more severe in their symptoms. On the other hand, C19 has consistently been a problematic virus for the immune compromised and the elderly. Like many viruses, it has been responsible for aggravated and long lasting effects – so called Long Covid – in many people.
For all of these reasons, vulnerable people should be advised by their medical advisers to maintain a healthy diet, get plenty of exercise, and supplement their diet with vitamins (such as Vit D3 & others) known to be beneficial against corona viruses. But do GPs do this? Of course not. Most simply vigorously urge vaccinations for influenza, C 19 and now RSV.
I seriously doubt whether the contemporary medical profession really understands the importance of a varied and healthy diet and regular exercise. Maybe they do – but most certainly don’t make it the basis of their recommendations for good health. Testing and the prescription of pharmaceuticals now seems to be the fundamental business of the medical profession.
50
New evidence from Dr Steven Quay that long covid comes from virus features that were engineered into it in a lab.
Refer “Pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 was engineered into the virus.pdf“
10
Any idea of the ratio of people getting long Covid from the virus (not the vaccine) between the jabbed and not jabbed?
Do the un-vaxxed get long Covid just as often?
““Most of those being hospitalised are over the age of 65 and not up to date with vaccinations, so I can’t stress enough the importance of being vaccinated against COVID-19”
Those over 65 and vaccinated have already died…!
40
And don’t forget the virus killer – zinc – and its ionophore (apple, quercetin, HCQ, or IVM).
Or to be pedantic: zinc stops the virus from replicating in the cell.
10
Trump has a doozy on his hands with Vivek and Elon’s big mouths rocking the cart even before they take office. Yesterday they caused a civil war, basically Tech Bros vs nationalists.
At the heart of it, they realise a big problem within US culture is the lack of taking education seriously. The decline in educational standards and more importantly, attitude / culture, is not providing the Tech Bros with the skills they need, and Vivek mentioned specifically how this needs to change.
The opponents show little interest in listening to that, and rather than confronting a sobering thought, they took offence saying, “we went to the moon and now you tell us we are too stupid to do anything so we need to import endless Indians?”.
Well yes, kind of, because Indians have an attitude of learning driven by the feet to the fire of dire poverty. This is what is required to advance. The people of the west wallow in arrogance and apathy, have lost contact with the fact the world you see before you just didn’t happen by accident. It’s why so many think we can just forgo cheap energy, they have never experienced a world without it so they treat it with contempt.
Trump is a businessman first and foremost so he wants America to thrive and advance, so he will do what is required. But I fear he has lost critical level of his support base before he even starts.
110
Well yes, kind of, because Indians have an attitude of learning driven by the feet to the fire of dire poverty
Interesting Counterpoint on this and India
India: It’s Worse Than You Think
Jayant Bhandari, American Renaissance, December 19, 2024
Most Westerners know nothing about India beyond vague ideas about Hinduism, yoga, gurus, and maybe a dash of Bollywood. To such people, this article will be a rude awakening.
I grew up in Bhopal in central India. Since as early as I can remember, I worked in my father’s printing press. I studied engineering in the nearby city in Indore and went to Manchester Business School in Britain to do an MBA. I returned to India to set up a subsidiary of a British company, which was a huge success. When I lived in Delhi, I wrote for the mainstream Indian media. I traveled widely in India and around the world.
I had first returned to India with the idea of improving it, but after 11 years, I realized that India was a sinking ship, with worsening and increasingly shameless corruption, degraded people, and a society that was falling apart. I had never met an honest bureaucrat or politician. I applied to emigrate to Canada and my application was approved in a record three weeks.
I now advise East Asian and Western corporations on investing in India. Most of what I tell them sounds to them exaggerated, unrealistic, and unbelievable.
After much dance, drama, and a great deal of lost money, they begin to believe what I tell them.
However, this learning is never institutionalized because of a refusal to understand India. This is a form of political correctness, a poison eating away the innards of Western values.
When I was a child growing up in India, I learned that “might makes right.” Power was often abused, with those in control acting as if they had a God-given right to exploit and dominate others. The display of authority could be so extreme that questioning it or expecting those in power to do their duty might lead to retribution. Those in authority seemed to believe that their positions were not for serving others but for personal gain.
People who showed respect appeared to have meekly accepted a lower, subservient position. Kind people had to hide their compassion, for being nice was seen as a weakness.
In India, I have rarely seen someone in authority take the initiative to solve a problem he was responsible for.
60
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and the Silicon Valley Tech Millionaire Group Continue Lambasting Americans While Advocating for Expanded Foreign Worker Visas
For the past several days I have watched Vivek Ramaswamy, David Sacks, Elon Musk and his big tech influencers debating with their followers about the importance for them to continue expanding H-1b visas for foreign tech workers.
It is stunning to see this crew double, triple and quadruple down on advocacy, while defining American workers as inadequate for their Silicon Valley needs.
Within the tone of their argument, they essentially say the American worker is (1) not intellectual enough; (2) doesn’t have the right work ethic; and the latest point of justification is that (3) American culture is to blame for their need to import foreign workers.
As Vivek Ramaswamy recently said, “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG.” Thus, as the narrative is sold, American workers need to be replaced with more culturally appropriate Indian tech workers.
When the Indian-American starts saying Indian culture is more adequate at creating workers for the American tech industry, he loses me completely.
If the Indian culture is the holy grail breeding ground for software engineers, then why isn’t New Delhi replacing Silicon Valley?
Considering that factually the Indian culture is entirely based on a caste system, the argument is even more absurd.
What we need are training and recruitment centers for American students. However, the larger issue within the billionaire tech team advocacy is an issue of self-interest.
What we see in the justifications and arguments of the Ramaswamy, Musk and Sacks group is a very specific point of immigration policy for their subset within a singular sector of the American economy.
20
Timing is an issue in all this, more specifically, time to market for this new generation of US tech workers. The industry needs work done now and for the next couple of years. Trained US staff wont come on like on/off switch, so whatever they do they are locked into immigrant workers for as long as it takes to problem solve, implement and educate.
20
Sounds like Africa all over… Oh wait, it sounds like any country that is not first world, especially those that were colonised by Europeans and then handed back to the natives. A tribal or caste system leads quickly to a nepotic corruption right through Govt agencies, it seems a law of human nature.
Trump/Musk’s problems step directly from the common observation that graduates these days expect to step into a high-paid job where they do sweet Fanny Adams all day, while First Gen immigrants famously work their butts off in the new country.
“If the Indian culture is the holy grail breeding ground for software engineers, then why isn’t New Delhi replacing Silicon Valley?”
What makes them think it isn’t? You won’t see it overnight, but the internal economies of India and China will end up using local products, then it will spread to the rest of Asia, and the West won’t admit anything until over half the world’s population is not buying i-thingies.
20
Jeff Childers ‘Coffee and Covid’substack today is enlightening. An excerpt:
More from this very readable daily blog: https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/doge-days-of-the-color-war-friday?r=yan2l&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
10
FWIW
Another set of US covid scene string pullers emerges –
“It was a mandate to secure American digital infrastructure against foreign attack and infiltration.
And yet during the Covid year, it assumed three huge jobs. It was the agency responsible for dividing the workforce between essential and nonessential. It led the way on censorship efforts. And it handled election security for 2020 and 2022, which, if you understand the implications of that, should make you spit out your coffee upon learning.”
More at
https://instapundit.com/692635/#disqus_thread
20
FWIW
“Alexander Downer Exposes FBI’s Deceit In Opening Russia Investigation”
“Downer’s confirmation represents a significant breakthrough in unraveling the final puzzle pieces of Russiagate, not necessarily because the information is new or surprising, but rather because it confirms that the FBI was aware from the outset that its justification for initiating the Trump-Russia investigation was phony.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/alexander-downer-exposes-fbis-deceit-opening-russia-investigation
80
Ok.
Now I would like to see an explanation of why Papadopolous met with Downer at all. Or more precisely why the meeting was at a level which warranted an official record being made.
My operating hypothesis remains that at the time lots of bad guys were sowing lots of seeds in the fertile ground of lots of unsuspecting morons. And on numerous occasions the unsuspecting morons sowed their own seeds.
And there is always one more good question. This after all is the self-serving version of events Downer managed to get into the official record of the Durham review of the Muller report. Why would Downer say anything else?
20
The outgoing “professional public servants” are supposed to help the incoming administration, not trap it. Bit rich calling them “morons”.
And why is Downer opening his mouth now? CYA?
00
Downer does not want to be on the wrong side of President Trump, unlike Loud Mouth US Labor Australian Ambassador – Grovel Kevin Krudd
40
I think perhaps a better operating hypothesis is that governments are filled with bored vacuous nerdlikes that rise to position via birth and(or) strategic lip placement and desperately wander the urban capitals looking for personal existence justification like zombies scavenging for brains.
I know this as result of having been been a lowly argonaut trapped into the maw of one of these desperate territories for 15 years.
Barley able to escape and prevent my soul and brains from being fleeced by the afore mentioned zombies.
00
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2024/12/27/how-dmso-revolutionizes-skin-care-and-dermatology/#more-357090
00
I keep reading about DMSO, and find it interesting, fascinating, hopeful (I even bought some, but haven’t used it)… and a bit flaky sounding. I ordered the recommended text by Amandha Vollmer – even that makes it sound like believing in crystals or something.
Anyone else know anything about this stuff?
00
I’m a step behind you, I’ve read about it and thought I’d give it a go, but haven’t bought any yet… If it doesn’t help my wife’s newly acquired scars I can use it to help cuttings root it seems.. I’ll try some in my skin lotion that I make at home too.
Read the MidWestern Doctor’s article about LDL and statins, that’s an eye-opener!
10
Bypassing biometric security
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_sp57d3WFUN1z23obp.mp4
Just like that.
30
One or two weeks ago I raised the possibility that Biden’s pardons and commutations could be overturned if it could be shown that he did not PERSONALLY read the recommendations and sign the acts, or approve the machine signing on his behalf.
No commentator I heard had gone down this rabbit hole then but I am hearing it now and with the addition that those who actually made the decisions acted illegally.
We live in interesting times.
30
More to the point is that if he’s mentally fit and cognisant to make such decisions then he can and should stand trial for his crimes.
If not fit and cognisant then everything he signs off on is illegal and invalid.
100
Reporting on a dangerous bridge in Brazil
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_sp56wfz7MW1z23obp.mp4
What timing!
20
Brainwashing the masses -MSM edition
https://x.com/ivan_8848/status/1871685294350913975/
Rinse, repeat.
20
We are all individuals!
20
I have pointed out that net zero emissions is a ridiculous global political agenda that will result in more harm than good, notably a further decline in the prosperity of developed nations while developing nations are left to continue nation building using the means developed nations are required to stop using. However there was no agreement signed by the Morrison Government at Glasgow 2021, instead an aspirational goal was the commitment, based on new technology being developed (nuclear power stations/plants now included) and without damaging the economy and national prosperity.
The details are at this link;
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/publications/australias-long-term-emissions-reduction-plan
16
To put the Morrison Government decision into perspective the following media report explains quite well;
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/25/australia/australia-climate-net-zero-intl/index.html
After publishing a defiant op-ed to announce the policy, in which the leader said he “won’t be lectured by others who do not understand Australia,” Morrison told journalists that he didn’t even intend to put net zero into law.
Dozens of countries have already put forward plans to reach net zero – where greenhouse gas emissions are reduced and any remaining emissions are removed from the atmosphere – ahead of Glasgow. More than a dozen have already enshrined them into law, and most that have announced the goal intend to legislate in the future.
Steam rises from the Miller coal Power Plant in Adamsville, Alabama on April 11, 2021.
RELATED ARTICLE
A COP flop? Some key leaders snub the event
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Morrison said his government would achieve net zero by 2050 “the Australian way” by balancing the risk of climate change without damaging the economy.
“Our plan, most importantly, backs Australians to achieve what they want to achieve when it comes to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Australians want to do that and our plan enables them to do that. Our plan works with Australians to achieve this goal. Our plan enables them, it doesn’t legislate them, it doesn’t mandate them, it doesn’t force them. It respects them,” Morrison said.
13
PM Morrison was born an excellent second-in-charge performer.
If all our “parliamentarians” were like him, we would not be so deep in ….hole of the world – only quoting, only quoting…
But they are not, some are just semiliterate, some are freeloaders. The term performance is foreign to them.
12
Morrison was certainly no Trump. He never nailed his colours to the mast and boldly LED the nation.
But to be fair Aussies today are wimps who do not want to be led beyond their own front yard. Abbott tried to lead but we stood aside as the liberal wets assassinated him. Were they trying to BUY good press from their ABC? How futile was THAT!
21
Why are the reds so willing to ignore the truth?
02
CNN and truth?
14 days to flatten the curve. Anyway he is happy in his new job dealing in death, same as the old job really, Scotty from marketing rides again.
Let him go Dennis, he’s gone, it’s the self roasting goose.
00
“and without damaging the economy and national prosperity.”
Lol! That didn’t get very far did it! We’re about to become the Southern Hemisphere Cuba!
00
FWIW
“Uncommon common sense from the magnificent Peter Ridd”
https://youtu.be/u7cx357B3r4
Via https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2024/12/uncommon-common-sense-from-the-magnificent-peter-ridd.html
00