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
Astonishing that the society that produced the Monty Pythons, will now arrest a person if sarcasm or a joke happens to loft over the head of some police or public official or another.
A feat which apparently would not require much altitude.
Even British cats have now been successfully confused.
I’m given to understand that dogs are afraid for their lives.
150
Seems John Cleese did the right thing getting out of the country a few years ago. He could see that things were degrading steadily and had the luxury of being able to get out of the pot.
70
Here is some commentary about thirteen sci-fi movies from the 1960’s which were censored or banned but which you can now stream for free.
https://youtu.be/zdPM75WBJIE
The first movie in the list is “Creation of the Humanoids”.
I commented on that movie on this site here:
Should advanced humanoid robots have rights?
60
It’s interesting how desensitised people have become. Movies were banned or censored for reasons that would barely or not rate a mention these days and which would even be considered laughable.
Now society doesn’t censor or ban for shock and horror but “incorrect” political or “scientific” opinions.
Also, back in those days the Left supported free speech, now they fully support censorship. They do whatever is necessary to promote their interests at any given time. Now they do as they please as they have gained massive powrr as they have infested academia, media and tech.
141
For years I was deeply offended that the World did not see Blade Runner (1982) as the best film of all times. Of course there was a bit of Hollywood there…
Nowadays it is 99% Hollywood and 1% thought.
50
Well it certainly is the best sci-fi film in my opinion, and my favourite movie of all time.
I think the director’s cut version took out some of the Hollywood component.
30
More contemporay is of course the late, great Robin Williams work “Bicentennial Man” exploring the road of artificial entities achieving human status.
Totally worth watching and more relevant than ever.
At what point does an entity become human, if at all?
If a mechanical shell is stuffed with working “blood and guts” and visually indistinguishable, is it human then?
A “soul” perhaps (whatever that is)?
If you could replace the brain with an artificial one, is that person still human?
Biologically it’s just DNA driven of course.
30
Hubots can never have a soul because they lack human imagination.
01
Here is some commentary on the murder of conservative UK political figure and former politician Ann Widdecombe and attempts by UK police/government to downplay its true nature of Leftist political violence involving ideology and/or terrorism and predicting more. Murder is the next level of violence from the Left.
Simon Webb: https://youtu.be/oy3BwD2fptY
Jeff Taylor: https://youtu.be/RBGkGcKwTCY
100
In the following video is described the collapse of the Sourh African electrcal grid due to racist anti-white policies and its recent revival.
There are aspects that might be relevant to the eventual rebuilding of Australia’s electrical grid in terms of re-hiring people who had knowledge of how the old (pre-rebewables) grid worked and fixing it.
https://youtu.be/k3XqvK8RiW0
90
Message from US Central Command.
See video at link.
90
The following is from https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/america-s-latest-weapon-against-iran-sea-drones/ but that link is now inactive.
70
“being combat-tested by the U.S. for the first time in the Middle East.”
..and that’s why the Yanks are always at war somewhere in the globe.. You need to test these new weapons, and what better subjects than people you think of as sub-human.
I see Trump is now going to charge to go through the Straits of Hormuz, another gang of highwaymen to pay off.
Oil price up, WW3 continues..
59
Never miss an opportunity to make a buck. Turning the IRGC ideas into money spinners for the USA – pure brilliance.
Expensive to keep US ships on alert in Strait of Hormuz. Better the countries needing the oil pay rather than the US voters.
92
The IRGC was charging $2 million for safe passage, but Donnie reckons he can do a better deal and put up the price to $15 million for each ship.
US pirates extorting money to pay for military adventurism, such a blatant vulgar display of thuggery has not gone unnoticed.
22
Tellimeezedreaming.
10
Sea drones should be relatively easy to stop using nets, strung on buoys.
10
A 7.5m long $500K “drone” is the ideal target for an autonomous $5k quadcopter…
00
It appears that many strategists only look forward and ignore the lessons of history. So as you say maybe simple and cheap nets could interrupt these drone missions.along A few examples from history where old tech defeated the modern tech of the day.
British fighting square, obsolete in European warfare defeated massed forces in Sudan,
The Light horse charge at Beersheba,
World War One aircraft, Fairy Swordfish, caused the destruction of ultra modern German battleship Bismarck
I am sure there are many more examples of simple tactical changes that out manoeuvred the latest hi tech of the day.
90
Would be as easy to fit them with “net snippers” .
A $100 toy from AliExpress already have enough “intelligence” for untrained kid to fly it, imagine what tricks went into design of a military gizmo.
51
I doubt a net would stop a water jet propulsion system.
40
Seantor Lindsey Graham had the Covid Vaccine and then got Covid
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lindsey-graham-covid-19-positive-test-vaccinated/
Spike protein causes inflammation and weakening of arteries.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8965847/#:~:text=More%20specifically%2C%20the%20S%20protein,cause%20microvascular%20dysfunction%20%5B3%5D.
Just saying,
100
FWIW
A round up of conspiracy theories around the death of Lindsay Graham in today’s Coffee and Covid –
“More about Senator Graham’s increasingly mysterious death; Colonel Mustard in the Library; the New York Times begs for the public’s help to refuse criminal subpoenas for leaker intel; more.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/sympathetic-monday-july-13-2026-c?
11
It must have been hard for him to stay alive!
” …the Russians assassinated Graham because he was a loud Putin critic who was “helping” Ukraine and for tit-for-tat reasons (more on that in a moment). Or…
…the Ukrainians assassinated Graham, since Graham secretly helped the Russians by bringing his iPhone into the drone factory— which the Russians blew up later the same day. Or…
…the Iranians assassinated Graham. During the widely covered funeral for the late Ayatollah, many protest signs included Graham’s face in crosshairs. They hated him and publicly swore revenge. Or…
…the Israelis assassinated Graham. Honestly, I couldn’t make much sense of the complicated argument, but it’s out there. Something about Graham blocking a plane deal. Or…
…the Chinese assassinated Graham because he was a Taiwan hawk and was recently pushing for stronger chip export controls. Or…
…the Drug Cartels assassinated Graham, because he was on the Judiciary Committee, and he has been going after them like crazy lately and taking the war on drugs to Central and South America. Or…
…his own heart assassinated Lindsay Graham. (Maybe with an mRNA assist.) All things considered, it’s still probably the most likely explanation and is included in the list for completeness.
Every option except #7 is consistent with FBI involvement, since the crime would have been committed on US soil. Presumably on US soil. I forgot one.
One additional line of conspiracy hot-takes has Graham being accidentally killed in Ukraine— unintended collateral damage in the Russian missile strike on the Kiev drone factory.”
21
As you say; his own heart assassinated Lindsey Graham, possibly with mRNA assist.
Preliminary cause of death:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/sen-lindsey-graham-dies-71-brief-sudden-illness-rcna552722
An aortic dissection occurs when the inner lining of the aorta tears and blood forces its way between the layers of the wall of the aorta. The tear generally occurs in the ascending aorta, near the heart. The dissection may be partial or the blood may rupture back into the lumen of the aorta further down or it may rupture right through the wall of the aorta.
In the last case the dissection is usually rapidly fatal.
Spike protein causes inflammation of the intima (inner lining), leading to accelerated atheroma and arteriosclerosis and also the media (main wall) of the aorta, weakening it further.
There have been surprisingly few case reports so far linking Covid or vaccination to aortic dissection.
50
FWIW
“This used to be active sabotage … now it’s standard EU practice”
“Ten years back, I posted an excerpt from a WW2 American espionage manual showing workers in occupied Europe how to bureaucratically sabotage their organizations to harm Nazi Germany’s war efforts. At the time I joked that it also sounded like a lot of company meetings in the modern world. Brivael Le Pogam uses the same set of guidelines to illustrate just how much the EU has embraced these sabotage methods as their standard operating practices:
The European Union seems to have taken it as its official instruction manual. Here are the disturbing similarities:”
More at
https://quotulatiousness.ca/blog/2026/07/12/this-used-to-be-active-sabotage-now-its-standard-eu-practice/
Via https://instapundit.com/809708/#disqus_thread
Not only the EU?
00
I have been watching some of the early morning World Cup football matches. I have needed to set the alarm to get to see the kick off.
What surprises me is the brief period required for the opening presentation. Flags appear; carried by humans, national anthems played and all done in five minutes. In Australia, it takes 5 minutes to introduce the “elder” to begin the “welcome to country” stupidity.
“welcome to country” has become a massive drain on productivity in Australia. This woke BS has to stop. Vote None Nation to stop it.
151
Bureaucracy is a necessary evil of civilised societies.
02
unneccessary
FIFY
20
Totally necessary, otherwise we would have uncivilised anarchy.
Politicians argue over how much of our tax dollars should be spent.
00
With one foot in the anarchist camp and the other with libertarians you would feel right at home here. This allows them to be constantly morally outraged, like wokesters.
00
FWIW
“AS ANYONE WHO UNDERSTANDS ECONOMICS COULD PREDICT: The AI Jobs Apocalypse Just Failed Its First Contact With the Evidence.”
https://x.com/amuse/status/2075298772398092296
Via https://instapundit.com/809706/#disqus_thread
00
FWIW
“BUSH SUMMIT: High taxes and red tape are crushing bush businesses, Hancock Agriculture farmer warns”
https://www.couriermail.com.au/partner-content/bush-summit-high-taxes-and-red-tape-are-crushing-bush-businesses-hancock-agriculture-chief-warns/news-story/8330aa5948aeca09dfbe3012dfd3739a
Not paywalled atm
10
I just had an unpleasant experience with a chat bot, first AI then human when AI couldn’t solve my problem. Being able to call a human the old-fashioned way would be far faster and cheaper in terms of labour cost.
I gave the company the following feedback:
50
We’re experiencing an unusually high number of calls at the moment, at 2am.
Please stay on the line while our one and only operator struggles to cope.
Remember to eat and drink regularly while on hold for 3 hours.
Your call is unimportant to us which is why we don’t hire more operators.
Press 2 now to send an electric shock to our cost-cutting idiot manager.😆
40
I have been pushing my Copilot a bit lately to find useful data sources and help with downloads.
Yesterday Copilot told me I had used my monthly quota – not sure when the usage period starts but if it is calendar month I used the quota in half the month.
I am not inclined to pay more for the service because I have been using it on some frivolous questions as well so easy to keep usage to tasks I get value from.
On a slightly different note, DDG has made an offer to use their web browser. Is anyone using the DDG browser?
10
Used it for years, primarily because of the native ad blocker. I use their AI search function for simple factual data so can’t say how it would suit your purposes.
10
FWIW
https://brave.com/compare/duckduckgo-browser-vs-brave/
10
FWIW
Worth a read (IMO)
“Plato ‘Splainer about Why Idiots Rule Democracies”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2026/06/25/plato-splainer-about-why-idiots-rule-democracies/
00
‘ … even though Putin answers to a ruling council, is elected, and is accountable to the people of Russia.’
Chiefio is correct on climate change, but as a political analyst he has no credibility.
00
The same people who say Poots is accountable to a parliament say Trump is a king.
00
FWIW
AOC explains socialism –
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRJitaL_3hkHXDtNUQxQ9EZkf3LeOEllZgEHEtFXjID3c_otthzBopts24HSZ0oQdz9aCeXYJESRwWzRNT6y4SAW3YVUMNTgIb7sT2pR942V3zwdmeYCXl1JjWECrCEcvXBK35P_7mGW8JP2c0FH5-5a-7sERUeDYQERME-FXCzHaoA2JKPrKwpQxrAk/s600/Meme%20-%20AOC%20being%20an%20idiot.png
60
FWIW
“IS THERE ANYTHING IT CAN’T DO? Coffee May Protect the Liver in More Ways Than Scientists Realized.”
https://scitechdaily.com/coffee-may-protect-the-liver-in-more-ways-than-scientists-realized/
Via https://instapundit.com/809676/#disqus_thread
10
Single 5-gram Psilocybin dose restores speech, memory and bladder control in advanced alzheimer’s patient
Researchers administered a single oral dose of 5 grams of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Approximately 19 hours later, the patient reportedly awoke and began engaging in spontaneous autobiographical conversation that lasted for several hours.
Over the following days and weeks, she exhibited improvements across multiple domains that had previously appeared permanently lost:
Restoration of urinary continence, including nighttime bladder control
Significant improvement in speech and spontaneous conversation
Recognition of family members
Recovery of autobiographical memories
Improved working memory and social awareness
Greater emotional responsiveness
Independent walking and increased mobility
Ability to dress herself and initiate activities
Perhaps most astonishingly, one month later the patient remained continent and continued to function at a significantly higher level than before treatment. A subsequent 3-gram psilocybin session reportedly produced additional gains in verbal expression and mobility.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2026.1813281/full
Vote for the magic mushroom party!
/Talking snakes optional 😉
40
Opening the doors of perception, its a miracle.
01
From https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/psilocybin …
Common side effects include hallucinations, fast heartbeat, increased blood pressure, muscle weakness or twitching, trouble with balance or coordination, nausea, vomiting, or paranoia. Serious side effects are less common and include psychotic or dangerous behavior.
Sometimes small doses of poison have surprising benefits … but take one pill, not the whole bottle.
10
I can understand it having some beneficial affect but nothing will repair the physical brain damage resulting from that terrible disease which involves the death and disappearance of neurons and their synaptic connections leaving a void. Empty space.
00
Angus Taylor was on 2UE, and I could not feel but sorry for him.
Unfortunately too late for few real Liberals. They should have searched for their convictions 11 years ago and, if some were found, throw out anti-Abbott plotters – even if those seats could be lost for them. Liberal Party could have survived as a good opposition at least.
Since 1996 Labor Party performed poorly in all aspects but one – being a Party.
As such they had no equals – not only within the party machine but mostly outside of it.
A listener has asked A.Taylor : how he plans to convince 33% of Australians who, despite all evidence prefer current prime minister? He should not even try.
We, here, know Canberra and certain parts of Sydney and Melbourne will never endanger their wellbeing by listening.
40
The joys of lightning
https://64.media.tumblr.com/71cce029479feeb37e5d24d846ff37ae/ff5043c9b4f666a7-28/56b01f2dbde2cceb75be2234d981f817b023f421.mov
Probably a Monday.
10
There are reports that DJTrump is going to impose a 20% transit fee on shipping in the strait.
I’ve a strong suspicion that he may have the Iranian government pay everyones charge and book it up to them.
Lots of Iranian funds are in overseas accounts that are temporarily “frozen” and could possibly be used for the payments.
It would be such a nice gesture on the part of the Iranian rulers.
We’ll see.
00
FWIW
“Groan…Science Tries to Legitimize ‘Weather control’”
“From the press releases “I never bothered to finish reading because it was too effing stoopid.” department.
Hiroshima University: In recent years, the frequency of weather-related natural disasters – cyclones, torrential rains, floods – has increased as a consequence of global warming. These disasters cause billions of dollars in damage and losses every year. As a result, there is great interest in weather control, the process by which human intervention can deliberately alter the weather.”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/07/13/groan-science-tries-to-legitimize-weather-control/
00
Australia WANTS to become Third World (present company excepted) and is blowing up its power stations. And nuclear was banned twice by the Liberals and the ban is supported by Labor.
Meanwhile Africa is wanting to become First World and wants to build nuclear power stations.
00