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
We have all heard of EV battery fires but this raises battery alarm to a new level. A Vape Battery caused huge amount of damage to a refuse lorry in Exeter.
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/bin-lorry-vape-fire-exeter-10318021?int_source=nba
This is quite worrying as vape batteries are very small and our refuse lorries are Very sturdy.
170
Those vape batteries are interesting.
Vapes are disposable products but they contain a rechargeable lithium battery even though the units are not rechargeable.
Being an electronics enthusiast, when I see a vape carelessly discarded on the street I pick it up, take it home and recover the lithium battery.
Some electronics YouTubers like Big Clive have recovered large numbers of them.
Why the rechargeable battery? I guess they might be ones that didn’t pass the quality control tests for regular rechargeable cells so they get sold cheaply to vape manufacturers.
Big Clive video: https://youtu.be/N65DpT2nqEI
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That’s the official line.
We all suspect you’re a closet vaper.đ
50
I’m curious to know how they knew it was a vape battery that did it as opposed to any number of other possible devices capable of causing ignition. I would have thought the fire would have destroyed the evidence.
90
They showed it on our local tv news. They closed the fire down by restricting oxygen into the waste area of the truck and doused it with water.
I think the firemen physically found the remains of the object. They were urging people not to just throw these things into their waste bin
30
Incredible that 2 Lihium Ion Batteries that small size – look like 2 AA or AAA batteries – could cause so much damage
And Labor Blackout Bowen wants Large Scale Battery Backup for Unreliable Renewables, when similar California Battery Installationhas gone up in flames releasing Toxic Fumes into the Community
81
Dont have to look overseas for examples, ther was a battery fire in Geelong a few years back
https://www.frv.vic.gov.au/large-battery-fire-moorabool
Not to mention the home battery fires that pop off here and there but dont get much attention till someone joins the dots
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/deadly-major-warning-over-popular-solar-batteries/news-story/dd8e33e951d7158a71160102513e9eba
40
It was the sweet tang of berry flavours that gave it away đ
30
A vape battery is usually a standard 1850 cell, similar to that used in most lithium batteries. Looking at the cell by itself, you wouldnât be able to work out its use, unless the cell obviously didnât have welded tabs.
10
Just when you thought the outside was without boundaries comes news that the UK is running out of space for offshore wind turbines
https://dailysceptic.org/2025/07/03/britain-is-running-out-of-space-for-offshore-wind-warns-gb-energy-boss/
They need to be secured to the sea floor which is made possible in our shallow waters such as in the area where Doggerland used to join us to the continent. However the need is now for floating wind farms where the costs are four times greater and the technology much more problematic.
140
Fortress Britain.
No enemy can invade because of the wall of windmills.
Except those enemies, military fighting age men, who cross the Channel in dingies. The windmills don’t stop them.
150
I’m struggling for a reason why anyone would want to invade Britain, why would you bother? I guess if MI6 causes enough mischief to make someone angry they may warrant a slap , something may happen but invasion?
20
An invasion is going on right now and has been for the last few years. You are just not supposed to call it that. Huge numbers of young men who have thrown away their identities (passports and ‘phones) and being given the life of Riley at taxpayers’ expense.
81
Agree Annie, but thats part of the reason nobody would benefit by invading it. Who would want to buy into the new troubles
Bit like here with the Chinese, why would they bother? They already get what they want cheap, and its fairly open slather on the arable land.
30
Tony, if too many floaties are built they may suffer whatâs known as the Guam Conundrum and tip over. Then, and only then, will people comprehend what carbon pollution really is when all the debris washes onto their beaches: oh what a mess.
111
Note that “beach” is pomslang for cold rocky foreshore.đ
70
We have many excellent beaches as well as cold rocky foreshores. Brighton fits into that last category and as a result a very interesting town has developed to compensate.
10
I posted this link yesterday that shows the UK’s “renewables” map.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=17FaYeZBcIizFSJst9CMBfpzFYUGXNpMG&femb=1&ll=55.04086956686432%2C-3.7377609982422833&z=6
Successive governments in the UK are doing a great job in converting their North Atlantic islands into desert islands. All the biomass removed to install hard black surfaces that form heat islands and wind energy robbers that cut down ocean air advection. And the UK Met blame Climate Changeâą for the reduction in RH:
https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Global-time-series-of-annual-average-relative-humidity-for-the-land-ocean-and-global-average-relative-to-1981-2010.jpg
Note where the steady decline commenced. The NH heating season from March 22 to June 21 has been experiencing increasing solar intensity since 1700 and has coped well. But removing biomass on a large scale and replacing it with hardware is sure to lower thew RH.
UK is being transformed to wasteland incapable off supporting human life. The Pacific Islands are growing in area so the UK population can move to those once they have transformed their islands to desert islands.
80
Another brilliant Leak Cartoon.
Genius.
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2025/07/more-leak-genius.html
141
Try today’s Leak cartoon in The Australian.
Chris as jockey trying to rouse the dead horse of hydrogen energy.
90
see at https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary
60
Perhaps one of our American Friends can more fully explain Trumps “Big Beautiful bill”.
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/what-is-republican-trump-tax-bill/2025/07/03/id/1217522/
It seems that many millions will not be able to access health care or Food stamps and tax reductions are slewed to the wealthy. Also it will add trillions to the National Debt.
However it is a complicated bill so perhaps someone closer to it can explain the ins and outs as the media tends to portray it according to their politics.
50
The presumption is that the Federal government should look after health, aid, education and more. That has been massive mission creep for many years. Federation was about Federal issues of defence, customs and excise, currency, international relations. It’s powers are clear in the Constitution, as in Australia. States did not cede responsiblity for health, education, policing or anything else like energy. Which is why the pointless US Federal Department of Education has been shut down.
In Australia the building of a National Energy Grid has allowed a Federal government to bypass state rights. And specifically health and education were never even the powers of the state government but slowly legislated to take over what was a de facto role by churches who previously looked after health, aged care, orphans, education. Governments were not about social issues like education of children, a quite new idea from the 1880s in the UK, with the exception of Scotland where it started in the 1680s. There was not even an obligation to educate children at all.
But with the growth of incomes and thus income taxes which are Federal and very 20th century, the Federal government has a lot more money. So it uses that money to control areas it has no right to control, like education and health. What Trump is not ending aid, just Federal aid and forcing states to pay for things which are the sole responsiblity of the states. This puts an end to the massive metastasising growth of the Federal government in Washington, just as Australia experiences the same thing in Canberra.
This also affects issues like the National Guard which is National, not State. Gavin Newsom has objected but he was wrong. The States cannot have an army. We had more of this with Victoria’s Daniel Andrews who was borrowing money from China, something illegal under the Constitution. Scott Morrison created a law to make it clear this was improper. We don’t seem to go to High Court as much as the Americans go to the Supreme Court for a reading of the Constitution.
So the deal is being reset based on the actual legal obligations and rights of the Constitution, the original deal which formed the United States. And States who have their own income taxes and other taxes are forced to pay their full share. At the same time it stops the consolidation of all power in the Federal Government which has no rights or obligations in such matters.
362
I believe the new ideas of environmental regulations at State, National and even International levels have not been explicitly defined in the Constitutions of the US or Australia or the rules of the UK. This is a weakness of modern Federation and a way in which power hungry Federal governments can bypass the Constitutions in new matters such as energy and health.
This is why in the modern world we see the incredible and new business of ‘Green energy’ as a device to control everyone through control of electricity.
In Australia coal and gas and oil are legally exclusive state matters, so they have to go. Everyone needs to use electricity so the Prime Minister can control everyone through absolute control of the Marxist means of production but the means by which production is powered, energy. Thus a Canberra controlled National Energy Grid. This idea, starting with the UN environmental legalistic obligations, is the lever by which communists can legally take over and centralize control of everyone. If you object, your power goes off.
It was amazing to see Justin Trudeau shut down instantly the bank accounts of millions who donated even $10 to the trucker’s strikers. He had no legal right to do that. And the banks had no obligation to obey. But they did. That’s the start of the absolute rule without question so desired by communists and totalitarians.
And in the UK, a woman in jail for three years for a thought crime, expressing her opinion in a comment, while the police scour the internet for more and neglect actual policing and real crimes. Who made this the right or obligation of government or of the police. It shows how governments slowly redefine their rights over the people, rights not ceded by the people.
Environment issues and IT will be used to implement complete control of populations at a Federal level. Trump is about winding back some of these clear signs of consolidation of power in Washington where 98% of people voted for Hilary Clinton. We would have the same story in Canberra where 130,000 Federal public servants are employed to maintain regulatory control over other Australians, as reported in the Australian yesterday. This is a story of government mission creep from common needs to absolute rule and massive taxes. Trump is undoing this, reducing Federal tax hikes legislated by Obama/Biden and forcing states to take on their legal responsibilities.
If only our Federal government would rescind the endless Carbon taxes, including the 35% tax on CO2 buried in the operating costs of our 250 biggest companies under the Safeguard Mechanism, buried so you don’t even know you are paying them. Or where the money goes. Or to whom.
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Searched on “safeguard mechanism” and spotted this snippet in the output:
A decarbonising world eh. Competitiveness innit.
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‘Perhaps one of our American Friends can more fully explain Trumps âBig Beautiful billâ.’
Yes Tonyb, as an America since birth, I have followed the debate closely from both learned journalists and respected members of Congress on both sides.
There are two explanations.
1) It is well crafted legislation which will set the Republic on a path to fiscal responsibility.
2) It is a radical f@scists monstrosity which will result in the deaths of birthing persons, children, old people, and the reinstitution of slavery … all which will not matter since the Earth will turn into Venus before Trump can be impeached for the third time.
Hope this helps.
You’re welcome.
291
Those are the typical Democrat Party talking points they trot out everytime. It’s been going on for decades. If there is any question that the Democrat Party is really a Socialist/Communist party, there’s your answer. They want people to be dependent. They want local government to be dependent on Federal Government hand outs for everything from school lunches to road repairs. It gives them a reason for existence. It puts them in control. Often those type of sob stories have proven to be made up or exagerated in the past.
Trump in a speach last night said that much of the dependence was created for political purposes, so it would be more difficult to institute reform.
But the debt is approaching $40 T. It can’t keep going like this, no matter the short term pain. If nothing was done it would have been the biggest tax hike, baked in by Biden and company, in history, on the middle class. That on top of the Biden era inflation, caused by higher energy costs.
E Musk wanted it a lot more severe. The reason for the fall out. Trump wanted to ease into things a bit, knowing that free market economic growth, once unleashed, could provide a better long term solution.
The MSM is spinning things. If everbody was against it then why did pass at all?
202
What benefits should you have? After all you are part of that culture, one in which Christian virtues like love thy neighbour, and the rest of the commandments are the spiritual base. Denying food to the poor. How would that fit (you might want to refresh your memory of the parable about loaves and fishes)
222
Who said the Government should be responsible for those things Peter?
There is nothing stopping you or anyone else contributing to private charities for that purpose.
In the US people remain permanently impoverished in Democrat-run cities, for decades. They keep them poor to keep them voting Democrat.
Results from the US (“liberal” means Leftist in that context):
Those things equate to my observations in Australia as well.
250
Confronted by this US regime the democratic socialists will flourish, with intelligent young personalties leading the charge. One of these fresh faced individuals has emerged in New York.
‘In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.â George Orwell
07
/s ?
40
Surplus to requirement.
01
Is that the goverment’s responsibility by means of compulsion? Or should people take care of the poor and needy by free choice? Should people shrug off that responsibilty on others through the Gov, or should they provide assistance? Should people be self reliant or dependants? Should everybody be equally poor? Or should most of society have abundance giving them the means to help their neighbors directly?
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All the discussion here so far just reinforces my belief that the kind of people who have the desire for power over others should never be let anywhere near it.
90
Donnie is an oligarch with the power to turn the world upside down.
15
“All the discussion here so far just reinforces my belief that the kind of people who have the desire for power over others should never be let anywhere near it.”…and it is exactly why democracy will always fail! The worst will always rise to the top by promising the bad with everything they want stolen from the good.
71
â … why democracy will always fail!’
Theocracies and autocracies are repressive and doomed to fail.
03
I for one have never heard the word of a God, only words from men claiming to speak for their God.
Loaves and fishes – we can do fishburgers for the poor I’m sure. Tartare optional.
Money better spent than on pollies self-appointed payraises and perks.
30
Have a look at today’s Coffee and Covid newsletter – suggests not leaping on the first “YSM” headline you read
https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/sledgehammer-friday-july-4-2025-c?triedRedirect=true
61
Even today I see scary ads for covid 19 treatments and vaccinations along the lines of “Almost 1 in 4 Australians may be at risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19”.
If you Goolag that term it leads you to Merck and Pfizer websites.
With a much more evidence-based approach to Big Pharma products under the TRUMP Administration, I guess they’ll be focusing instead on the woke countries like Australia.
180
The number of results I get from Goolag, DDG,Bing etc on a range of inputs is sad. They’re very obviously heavily filtered and censored compared to the big Y.
31
Australia has just banned certain PFAS chemicals which are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or what the Lamestream Media and other ignorant people refer to as “forever chemicals”.
They are claimed to be harmful but these substances are highly chemically inert and the more inert something is the more harmless it is.
Also, with modern chemicals detection technology you can detect substances at vanishingly small concentrations. Just because something can be detected doesn’t mean it’s necessarily harmful.
I’m not saying some of them mightn’t be harmful but I have little confidence in any campaign led by semi-literate “journalists” and ignorant publicity serpents who tell politicians what to think. And I have zero faith in any “scientist” who earns grant money from the taxpayer to write reports with conclusions of what politicians want to hear.
Thoughts?
170
When I was working the Technical Director liked to have fun with the scares.
His response to one involving parts per trillion was take a gram of (whatever) and dissolve it in a swimming pool (about 30,000 litres).
When mixed (and soluble) take a gram of that swimming pool and dilute this in another swimming pool and mix it.
Then take a gram from the new swimming pool and dilute this in a new.swimming pool.
Once well mixed drink the swimming pool and you can be sure you will feel ill.
100
The flipside of inertness is that when a chemical like that is inside a cell or your bloodstream, your biochemistry has no way to handle it. It could bind to all sorts of proteins via hydrogen bonding rather than chemical bonding, interfering with cellular mechanisms while your body has no way to remove it or break it down.
Its the same for all synthetic chemicals, I look at the levels of ill-health in the Western world and wonder which chemical invented since the 1800s is causing it.
60
‘The Psychology Behind Why ELITES Are Pushing Us to CIVIL WAR â Professor David Betz’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPEK9LOaBz4
Context of UK.
But true across the Western world.
Educated elites are ‘post-national’.
Uneducated proud Brits and proud Americans are backward and clinging to their antiquated identities … therefore deplorable.
Ozzies too.
You are only allowed ‘pride’ in your sexual orientation.
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Only for non-heterosexuals.
The Left regard heterosexual identities with contempt and consider them shameful.
151
Thanks David for the important correction.
I should have been more precise.
20
Why not have a month long “straight, white, non-child-offending guy” pride event?
It’d offend the useful idiot clueless woke left, that’s why.
Which is a good enough reason to have one!
100
Educated elites are âpost-nationalâ
For many âprogressivesâ the idea of nations and countries is outdated and anti-human being. It fits neatly with the one-world view stemming from the âthereâs only one earthâ and âwe canât see any bordersâ of the astronauts. Unfortunately, any vestiges of a semblance of the consciousness needed to help this become a reality on the ground is missing from us human beings, so there are many decrying borders but few making any effort to make it possible.
I would love no borders and freedom to move wherever as our long-gone predecessors did but the nasty people keep wanting to fight and kill like our long-long-gone predecessors (those without the âpeaceâ gene) did.
We havenât fully embraced being human beings yet.
41
FWIW
“The Second American Civil War Will Be Fought Mostly by U-Hauls”
https://pjmedia.com/stephen-kruiser/2025/07/03/the-second-american-civil-war-will-be-fought-mostly-by-u-hauls-n4941387
30
Good article, he could have done so much more with that theme. The self segregation seems to be continuing with the tax base increasingly moving out of places like California and Washington State and New York State and Illinois.
One of my favoured car Youtube channels used to be based in Minnesota (another declining Dem State). They moved their family to Tennessee and seem very happy with the outcomes. If nothing else the weather would be a relief I guess.
00
Russia recognises the Taliban Government in Afghanistan.
The Left should be pleased.
Obviously their silence of decades about the appalling situation of women in Afghanistan means they fully approve of the regime.
No doubt fully woke Australia will be next.
71
Well David we are allowed to play cricket against them, is that not some sort of recognition. I remember in the 60s and 70s we were not allowed to play sport against the South Africans because the âpolitically activeâ opposed their Government. Seems our âmodern political activistsâ are OK with the Afghan Government treatment of half their population.
150
…and that sounds like typical Govt expansion of their powers, now telling us who we can play sport with!!
Govt should be limited to-
-is the country fighting a war against us?
-is the country allied to someone fighting a war against us?
-is the country an ally of ours?
..and that should be the limit of their opinions and actions. How another country treats its subjects should be nothing to do with our Govt, they should just try to run their own country better. Let the Muslim countries carry on as they wish within their borders, kama will arrive sooner or later. Look at America whining on about Russian interference in their elections, its the same thing!
31
In line with the support of oppressed populations all around the world, the progressives, left, elites, etcetc are supporting the oppressed Taliban chieftains and Afghan leaders.
When will the women and children in Afghanistan stop oppressing the Afghan leaders and Taliban chiefs ?? When will the poof and disadvantaged in Afghanistan stop oppressing the vulnerable Imans ??
10
‘No doubt fully woke Australia will be next.â
No we wonât recognise Afghanistan until they have genuine democracy.
The Kremlin is desperate to make friends with other undemocratic regimes, particularly religious fundamentalists.
25
Funny how that works isnt it. We wont recognise the reality on the ground or have any dealings with you until you behave like us. Mmmmm very influential.
62
Its geopolitical and out of our hands.
China is also an autocracy, but being our biggest trading partner we overlook this discrepancy. Realpolitik.
63
No we wonât recognise Afghanistan until they have genuine democracy.
And the cultural aspects of the population will ensure that about 50% of the country will not be permitted to vote and that all allowed candidates will agree to support the details of the only recognized local religion?
21
Free and fair compulsory voting, the Australian form of democracy, will overturn the regime. Violent theocracies are a curse.
03
Sadly such noble statements wont change the situation on the ground and wont influence them in any direction unless countries engage. Sadly its not 2025 in Afghanistan , not even close.
20
There is nothing we can do until they throw off religious fundamentalism.
01
FWIW
“A travel tip I wouldn’t have considered”
“I’ve never thought that wrapping up my vehicle might be a worthwhile precaution before hiking a trail, but it turns out that in parts of this country, it’s not a bad idea.”
More at
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/07/a-travel-tip-i-wouldnt-have-considered.html
60
Here in Oz, itâs not unusual to find your windscreen wipers and window seals destroyed by Ravens. Do Ravens attack seals?
10
The Kea’s in NZ like to much on cars and peoples camping gear
20
We’ve had trouble with rats this year. They chewed the insulating layer under the bonnet and nested in the engine bay of our old Volvo V70! No wires or pipes chewed, yet. The nest was built using the leaves from the vines by the carport.
Last year we discovered they’d built a horde of half-chewed horsechestnuts in the tray under the engine bay. This year I had to be sure to pick up all the conkers, a massive crop, a pity they are not edible for humans…sigh.
51
Interesting to read of marmots. We saw some on the way up to the Aiguille du Midi on the lift from Chamonix. I’d forgotten about them until I read that article.
10
British tourists in Spain… Worthless article without actual figures of VitD levels, it just says you shouldn’t take VitD supplements without your doctor’s advice.
“A Spanish hospital has issued a warning after patients started turning up in greater numbers with vitamin D poisoning. Officials said the poisonings are linked, in many cases, to the prolonged and uncontrolled use of supplements, either through self-medication or inadequate adherence to guidelines.”
https://www.devonlive.com/news/uk-world-news/common-vitamin-supplement-warning-100-10317455?int_source=nba
20
A rather rapid change in wording from “vitamin D” to “supplements”. I wonder what was really happening?
30
Perhaps excessive sunlight?
As for doctors would they even worry about prescribing Vitamin D?
I know one bloke who has taken 1,000 units per day for over 10 years. I wish I was as healthy as he is.
20
I was taking 10,000 IU for some months until I passed my target blood level of 200 nMol/L (80 ng/ml) when I reduced my intake to my current 8,000 IU per day. My blood levels are going down slowly but I hadn’t got down to 200 when last tested.
I’ve not experienced any side effects and found I was still alive when I last checked.
(I’m also taking its cofactors, plus K2 and A.)
Cheers,
Dave B
10
FWIW
“”We’ve Become Serfs On Our Own Land”: The USDA Trap, Foreign Land Sales, And The Collapse Of American Farming”
https://www.zerohedge.com/food/weve-become-serfs-our-own-land-usda-trap-foreign-land-sales-and-collapse-american-farming
50
The Irish have had enough and want their country back
https://x.com/Mick_O_Keeffe/status/1941156909941137731
Don’t like the people, the laws, the rights, the customs, the food (bacon, yum!) then why are you here?
Why turn it into the place you just left?
/off to racist meme and protest jail.
141
CHRIS UHLMANN – Blind Milton could see net-zero is a lost cause
Here, letâs descend from the heights of Miltonâs poetry to ponder a single prose sentence buried deep in the text of a speech to the National Press Club by Jim Chalmers: âThe global net-zero transition will also reshape our revenue from resources.â
Now letâs turn to the word revenue. In 2024, coal and LNG were Australiaâs second and third biggest sources of export income, raking in a combined $160bn. That money creates jobs and wealth. It also helps fill government coffers.
In 2023-24, Australian state and federal governments collected about $28bn from coal and LNG through royalties, company taxes and resource rent levies. The flow of this cash is now directly threatened by the political decision to eliminate fossil fuels. Thatâs a big hole to fill.
Thatâs why the use of the word reshape is intriguing. Obliterate would seem more appropriate.
So, seeking the Museâs aid to illumÂine what is dark in the Treasurerâs words, letâs recast this sentence as: âBy agreeing to eliminate fossil fuels, the government has signed up to exterminating Australiaâs coal and gas exports, which will shake the economyâs foundations and blow a multibillion-dollar hole in the federal budget.â
In a nutshell, this means the government is going to have to raise taxes and cut services to fill the yawning gap left by torching our resource revenue as we hurtle into the abyss of a permanent structural deficit.
110
PS from the Comments
Labor Blackout Bowen & Labor Snake Chalmer
71
So they will have to find replacement sources for that $28 bn ?
That is just about the probable cost of SN2 !
40
Simples, we are an emerging “Renewable” Energy / Hydrogen / Wishful Thinking superpower. Its all part of “the transition”
10
FWIW
“The stats on draining Australia’s cash tank.”
$38b âexportâ turns out to be Australian cash”
https://x.com/matt_barrie/status/1940944034106954191
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2025/07/the-stats-on-draining-australias-cash-tank.html
40
…and this-
“EX Politician still living a luxury lifstyle at others expense.
Julie Bishop has come under fire for bleeding a cash-strapped university of almost $800,000 in expenses over a single year in her role as chancellor. Last year, the former deputy Liberal leader charged the Australian National University (ANU) $150,000 in rent for her luxury chancellery office on Perth’s Swan River….”
70
Rarely is it mentioned that the people who buy our “fossil fuels” might just want us to keep digging them up and selling them. What government could resist?
20
Liiciencing or Censorship ?
I just returned from a trip around Europe and UK.
My usual internet radio apps seemed to work as normal until i tried them in the UK.
None of the usual Aussie stations (iincluding ABC ) were accessable, with a window appearing stating âContent not available in this regeonâ..or similar wording.
..All seems a little like political control to me !
81
No idea about that Chad. I never listen to the ABC these days. I can pick up BBC Radio3 (which I do for Choral Evensong on Wed/Sun), Classic FM, GBNews and Britcom1…plenty enough for me while travelling. Those I can get here as well as overseas; TalkRadio sometimes goes off air here, supposedly for licencing issues.
I used to enjoy ‘Music for the God who sings’ on ABC but haven’t listened to it for ages so don’t hear any ABC now.
If we travel again (a big ‘if’ now), I’ll check what Australian programmes I can get, if any!
60
Its copyright issues. We often have the same problem getting the BBC world service in Europe. Sports events in particular are very difficult to access but most content is affected.
10
A friend sent a funny meme yesterday.
The pictue showed The Donald talking animatedly into the phone with a speech bubble above his head saying “I’ve heard of Chinese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese but WTF is an Albanese!?”
141
Russia Sends Independence Day Greetings To Trump White House
The Kremlin has sent the American government and people July 4th well wishes, which comes as somewhat of a surprise. But Moscow and Washington have been working on trying to improve bilateral relations under the Trump administration, while also seeking to forge an opening for permanent truce in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday issued a formal Independence Day message to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the American people on the occasion of the American nation’s founding.
The message released by the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed hope for improved ties, stability, and a unified vision between the two nuclear armed powers and longtime rivals.
“I expect that together we can put the relations between our nations on a creative vector, make them stable and predictable based on mutual respect for national interests determined by history, geography, and ârealities on the ground,â” he said.
80
America â Thank God! – July 4, 2025 – Sundance
Work on the document continued through July 3 and into the afternoon of July 4, when the Declaration was officially adopted by the Congress. Of the 13 colonies, nine voted in favor of the Declaration, two â Pennsylvania and South Carolina â voted No, Delaware was undecided and New York again abstained.
As we all know, John Hancock, President of the Congress made his signature large enough for King George to read âwithout his spectacles.â
The statement “applying one’s John Hancock” refers to signing one’s name, particularly in a prominent or large manner. This phrase originates from John Hancock’s famous, large signature on the United States Declaration of Independence.
His signature became so well-known that it eventually became synonymous with a person’s signature in general.
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
70
Some are never satisfied. Trump’s “No tax on tips” provision in the BBB is universally mocked which is counter intuitive.
On the one hand they say that the tax savings in the bill are for his “billionaire mates” while on the other saying that the no tax limit PP is a con because it is “only” $25k. The marginal rate is likely to be 22% so that’s $100/W in the tax payers’ pockets.
So nice of the well-off critics to sneer on the servers’ behalf to make a political point.
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Pyro Drone Shows: The Future of July 4th Fireworks?
Pyro drones are transforming July 4th firework shows by launching pyrotechnics in intricate patterns with millisecond accuracy.
These high-tech displays require extensive engineering, choreographed flight plans with 3D animation software and sophisticated GPS systems.
But these massive shows arenât without risks as crashing drones can be a real concern.
WSJ explores the technology behind how the quadcopter fleets are changing aerial displays.
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Brilliant political strategy, Medicaid wonât be stripped until after the Mid Term Election.
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Reference available, please?
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‘Many of the changes to Medicaid, including new work requirements, won’t take effect until after the 2026 mid-term election. Provisions that critics say will result in cuts to Medicaid and food programs also won’t begin until after the 2026 election.
‘It’ll be up to states like Colorado to figure out how to implement all the requirements, a task many state officials are dreading.â (Denver 7)
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This is a worry, the North Atlantic Is colder than any other time In the last 9000 years.
‘According to a new study, abrupt (±1-2°C per century) shifts in North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) have occurred routinely over the last 9000 years. These decadal- to centennial-scale climate changes were âinduced by Holocene summer insolation and atmosphere-ocean internal variability.â (Notrickszone)
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FWIW
“Why Your EV Wonât Fill Up In Five”
“The headlines practically write themselves. If you believe the hype, weâll soon be zipping across continents on a single charge, stopping only long enough to grab a coffee while our car slurps down enough energy to power a small hospital. Hereâs Huaweiâs claim:”
“But, as usual, reality is hiding out in the fine print, ducking the spotlight while the PR machine does its victory lap. Nobody wants to talk about physics. Nobody asks how, exactly, youâre supposed to pour Niagara Falls through a garden hose.”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/04/why-your-ev-wont-fill-up-in-five/
A saying that I met years ago – “Conjure up no more spirits than you can conjure down”
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