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
Three in the morning. My Lab just barked, and when I went to the lounge room to see why, I stepped in a pile of spew. Squelchy.
130
Tony Taylor: Oh yuk! You poor thing, how horrid!
We’ve just had a delicious meal in our hotel in Cyprus. The food in Cyprus is excellent and so is the wine, not to mention the ouzo.
It’s much cooler here in early October, than it used to be years ago, as was May this year when we were here. Where’s that global warming when you’d like a swim?
190
Annie,
according to https://ourworldindata.org/temperature-anomaly
Cyprus (and Turkey) hasn’t been one of those countries NOT experiencing Global Warming from 1940 to 2025. At best 1℃ in that time.
However the UK has actually cooled, so you would think Cyprus is OK (so is Australia and much of the southern hemisphere where Global Warming has been less than 1℃ in that time.
Also interesting is that Canada was over 2℃ in that 85 years, but Alaska (and the USA) was only 1℃.
Also interesting is that the figures were from an offshoot of the EU. Best to check this out before it is censored.
100
Not sure what that’s showing or if it’s working correctly, UK most certainly has not cooled cf 1940, especially since 2000, Autumn’s have especially pronounced warming.
10
That must be due to the UK leaving the EU (which figures were from an offshoot of the EU) and they would want to punish you.
Or else it might be because people in the UK are becoming “hot under the collar” from your current Government.
140
Barfed is what really happened.
70
Been there. done that.
30
You mean barfed don’t you?
10
Victoria bites again morally corrupt and reprehensible!
Victorian schools are making life-altering decisions about children’s gender identities in secret, sparking outrage from parents and medical and legal experts.
430
It’s all part of the Labor recruitment strategy to get everyone working for the government.
Covid was a massive boon for Labor. Dan Andrews kick started a cascade of government jobs to oust the private economy.
240
Why is the fake conservative Liberal Party silent about these life-destroying transgender mutilations of children?
233
Because they’re, mostly, raving craven cowards!!!!
180
You meant to say the Liberal Labor Party. Surely!
102
The single greatest lesson children can learn is about the law of natural consequences.
I can only imagine the playground treatment received by a boy who suddenly pretends to be a girl. And that can only be the beginning of a life of suffering when they pretend to be something they are not.
150
And that can only be the beginning of a life of suffering when they pretend to be something they are not.
Intelligent?
/s
00
I thought the whole transgender trend would become passé after President TRUMP declared that there were only two genders and the UK High Court ruled “woman” and “sex” referred to the correct biological assignment.
But in the fully woke, dumbed-down increasingly pagan/atheistic countries like Australia, the Left are more heavily promoting it than ever before.
It’s a tragedy and probably far worse than the frontal lobotomy movement of yore.
190
The situation is getting worse in Europe. The EU is proposing that children can legally select their gender at any age, regardless of what a doctor or parent thinks.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/09/lifestyle/eu-plan-lets-kids-pick-legal-gender-at-any-age/
Moreover, the EU intends to punish member states that do not wish to adopt such a policy.
80
Good news.
“The Government is lowering its 2050 methane reduction target and confirming a review will take place in 2040 to assess whether New Zealand’s reduction efforts align with high-emissions countries.
Cabinet will soon approve a new target range of 14–24% below 2017 methane emission levels by 2050. That’s a drop from the previous target range of 24-47%.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/climate-change-government-to-lower-2050-methane-reduction-target-orders-2040-review/XVPLX4ZLEBGS5EUHKM6SGT6FIU/
Not quite the complete scrapping of the Paris agreement that I want, but at least it is moving in the right direction.
330
The Paris agreement has had no impact on a small % of NZ farmers who do not buy any production; grassland farmers who are self-sufficient for feed, fertiliser, and livestock.They obtain their nitrogen from the air by maintaining a grass/clover/forb sward and conserve surplus for bad seasons. They apply minerals as necessary, and avoid soil damage to the greatest extent possible.
For these farmers the ETS has just raised their energy costs -electricity and diesel.
200
And the farmers who would be most affected are those with big expenditures on feed , fertiliser and freight, where the inflation in price was eye-watering.
These farmers would have to reduce the worst of their marginal production, and suffer the impaired liquidity that must result , absent compensation from rising output prices.
They had good reason to squeal- they were being forced out of business so that their land could be taken for carbon credit farming.
150
I can’t see the difference between locking up land to let it effectively rot and using that same land to crow crops that contribute to soil structure, the environment and the economy. It is well proven that managed land is far better than abandoned land.
150
It was long ago~1945 proven that in NZ conditions at least, that one cow, or 6-8 ewes/acre well managed will not just maintain but actually improve fertility to the point where the opportunity exists to shallow plough, thus bringing up a small depth of sub-soil which can then be converted to fertile topsoil, ultimately increasing the depth of fertile topsoil.
Agrostology 101 – once upon a time- it’s no fairy tale.
170
Well-managed land can sequester more carbon, especially by correcting mineral deficiencies which limit photosynthesis.
The fact that the farmers get no credit for carbon sequestered in soil and farm products is the giveaway that the whole thing is rort.
160
It is interesting that the farmers, mostly dairy monocultures, in this relatively high-input group, make almost no use of permanent pasture, which is a very good thing indeed for the seed merchants.
In fact, long-rotation pasture(10+years) is also becoming unobtainable, apparently, for these farmers, who habitually use annual and short-rotation ,while complaining of lack of pasture persistence and the direct costs of renewal/replacement.
60
Why just lower it?
They need to grow some cojones and drop it completely.
Being a fence sitter doesn’t work, of which Australia’s failed fake conservative Liberal Party is a dying testament.
140
Paying lip service is the best strategy since Jacinda signed up NZ to a “free trade” agreement that provides for tariffs if we commit climate sins.
Get it?
One counters BS with better BS.
60
Senator Lidia Thorpe threatened to burn down Parliament.
If anyone else threatened to burn down Parliament they would be arrested. Look what happened to Guy Fawkes, back in the day. (Different country but similiar Parliamentary system and laws.) And look what happened to the J6 protesters in the US, who were actually innocent except for the O’Biden-loyal FBI plants.
As I’ve said before, the Left are becoming increasingly deranged, irrational, violent and dangerous. They have lost their minds.
320
“‘If I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point’:”
..that’s NOT a threat to burn down Parliament. The words that would make it a threat are completely missing.
44
Welcome to country smoking ceremony
50
No David. The Left have always been irrational and violent, think Communists, Fascists and Socialists. Those groups have caused more death and misery throughout history than any king or democratically elected leader. Any government that relies on force to maintain control is not democratic.
200
Violent maintenance of compliance is pure tyranny.
90
‘They have lost their minds.’
Not really, they are full of themselves, pumped up with virtue.
51
“Those that the Gods wish to destroy they first make confident”
40
Do you have a link? I found this.
‘The saying Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad, sometimes given in Latin as Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat (literally: Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first deprives of reason) or Quem Iuppiter vult perdere, dementat prius (literally: Those whom Jupiter wishes to destroy, he first deprives of reason) has been used in English literature since at least the 17th century. Although sometimes falsely attributed to Euripides, the phrase does have classical Greek antecedents.’ (wiki)
51
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
Lost the original source of the quote some years ago; heard it was Thomas Jefferson, but he was quoting it from another source.
Apologies for the ambiguity,
Red
110
Digging a little deeper.
‘Researchers associated with the foundation said they were not able to find any of these versions in any of the repositories of Jefferson’s writings. Instead, researching various other sources on the internet, including Google Books, Google Scholar, JSTOR and other archival sites.
‘They were able to determine that the quote first appeared in the 1914 publication of the 1912 Barnhill-Tichenor Debate on Socialism, in which Henry M. Tichenor, a socialist thinker, and John Basil Barnhill, an anti-socialist writer, debated socialism in a series of essays. In “Indictment of Socialism No. 3,” Barnhill listed a series of points. The first one is the quote, and it is not attributed to Jefferson.’ (Snopes)
31
20
FWIW – an ironical start for the day
After the sale of Dominion voting machines to a Republican
“But I was told electronic voting machines were safe and secure
Quote
Right Angle News Network
@Rightanglenews
·
12 Oct
BREAKING – Democrats are now demanding the removal of Dominion voting machines after a pro-Trump investor bought the company and rebranded them as Liberty Voting machines, with some Democrats even calling for paper ballots.”
https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1977216729655779667
Via https://instapundit.com/750259/#disqus_thread
200
another ian,
You have to laugh.
The problem reminds me of the cake cutting problem. To share fairly, A cuts the cake, and B chooses his piece.
Bit more complicated with the voting machines, but they could try this: team A writes the code, and team B gets to examine the code (but not change it), and to enter the candidates into the system. That would leave team A with a pretty strong incentive to make sure there weren’t any backdoors, though I imagine what would really happen is team A includes backdoors, but makes the code as inscrutable as they can. There’s also the possibility of double-agents amonst the programmers.
Maybe paper ballots are the go after all.
30
FWIW
“EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: Young People Are Falling in Love With Old Technology.”
Wanna buy a new 8-track tape?
https://instapundit.com/750204/#disqus_thread
60
And
“Everything old is new again” – in a different sense
“The Smuggler’s Republic: How America’s Oldest Vice Explains Our Border Crisis”
https://pjmedia.com/jamie-wilson/2025/10/12/the-smugglers-republic-how-americas-oldest-vice-explains-our-border-crisis-n4944773
50
I do wonder at times how the relatively large quantity of “untaxed” tobacco makes it into Australia….
20
The best chop chop is home-grown…. https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-10-tobacco-industry/10-1-the-tobacco-growing-industry
00
Everyone is back to normal after the long weekend, SMH has startedTrump-bashing articles again.
“Crypto anger as investors claim insider trading in $600b Trump crash”
“Trump is not worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize – not now, not ever”
..and for those fans of AI, there’s an article explaining just how useless it is. Sure, it can accelerate coding to give you a completely new app in a couple of days, but its still a junk app with no checking or testing. Put that in your business decisions and you won’t have a business very long.
“It’s about racing to get something out there – no matter how rushed or how little demand – then taking time to correct the mistakes later (if bothering to correct them at all)…Microsoft admits its Agent Mode in Excel has an accuracy rate of just 57.2 per cent, well below human accuracy of 71.3 per cent. That’s not a reassuring margin of error when dealing with business-critical data.”
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/the-vibes-are-extremely-off-with-silicon-valley-s-latest-brain-fart-20250716-p5mfbo.html
80
PM, Wong silent as Lidia Thorpe threatens to ‘burn down parliament’ and no charges for ISIS Brides
“Something smells rotten in Denmark”
150
Sky News host Rowan Dean says the aftermath of October 7, 2023, required “expert leadership”, snubbing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s “ignorant” actions.
“Instead, we got the trite, snide, supercilious and ignorant leadership of Albo’s university leftists drunk on their own power,” Mr Dean said.
“And the result, Australia is now a byword for antis@mitism around the world.”
180
“ … around the world.”
Not quite, the Two State resolution.
‘The General Assembly comprises all 193 UN Member States and 142 countries voted in favour of a resolution backing the document.
‘Israel voted against it, alongside nine other countries – Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States – while 12 nations abstained.’ (UN News)
33
Who is the U.N? Trump has ended, what is it now, eight conflicts in eleven months? U.N. – zero. Irrelevance is here, oblivion beckons.
70
Afghanistan and Pakistan are now hostile, perhaps he could fix that as well. The Nobel recipient was gracious and diplomatic in her acceptance speech.
I agree that the UN has passed its used by date with Russia on the Security Council. Its Putin’s plan to attack NATO with hybrid warfare, he doesn’t need new tanks when he can mass produce drones.
11
When I was in Israel recently just about everyone I met was aware of the exploding antisemitism in Australia and Government inaction, in fact virtual encouragement by way of inaction. They were particularly upset as Australia had always been a close friend, ally and supporter of Israel, starting with Australian troops winning the Battle of Beersheba in 1917 leading to the removal of the Ottomans and the eventual re-establishment of Israel in 1948.
90
Back in my student days I had quite a number of Jewish classmates who were the children and/or grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and met a number of those elders at things like 21st, weddings, etc.
A couple of time I asked why so many Holocaust survivors had come to Australia, and Melbourne in particular, when they left Europe, rather than go to Israel or the USA.
Their reply was pretty much always the same, the were well aware of Gen Sir John Monash and His Excellency Sir Isaac Isaacs, who was the first Australian born Governor General.
Their reasoning was that if a country recognized and honoured to Jewish lads born in small country towns (Jerilderie and Yackandandah respectively) is was a good place for Jews to move to and live.
The fact that the Jewish schools and synagogues now have to have security fences and guards around them to protect from the anti semitic garbage allowed free reign on Melbourne’s streets disgusts me to my core.
150
Australia can’t go it alone on climate action
Chris Bowen heads to India China to court investment for Australia’s renewable energy sector as bureaucrats concede our climate targets alone won’t slow global warming.
70
I’m sure China will be more than happy to help Australia pave it’s road to Hell with good renewable intentions.
130
I’m surprised the Chinese delegates didn’t burst out laughing the other week when Albo addressed the UN assembly (or at least those who didn’t opt to get a feed or take a toilet break during his allocated speaking slot). He was waffling about Australia increasing its net zero targets while their coal powered plants at home were spewing CO2 into the atmosphere.
40
Of course! China will loan the money and confiscate what collateral it wants when the repayments fail.
The bigger question is, what currency will China loan the money in? It would show a lack of confidence and a loss of face to use American dollars, I expect they would go the way of the West and offer loans for billions of Yuan, but only to be spent in China.
10
The situation is volatile.
https://www.visiontimes.com/2025/10/12/zhang-youxia-warns-of-armed-conflict-if-xi-refuses-to-step-down.html
01
These countries will become or already are economic superpowers.
They would LOVE to invest in Australia in economy-destroying “renewables”.
Why wouldn’t they want to remove an economic competitor?
Bowen is either stupid or evil but mostly likely both.
140
I don’t believe he has the brains to be evil. He’s just lacking intelligence. No room for it after the rest of his brain has drowned in the waters of socialist ideologies. His computer he walks around with on his shoulders has been overloaded for years. He shows he is incapable of learning from his mistakes nor from the experience of his superiors in other parts of the world. His circuitry lacks space and his delete button doesn’t function..
30
Almost all new jobs growth in Victoriastan (Australia) is in the public sector. No surprise.
And with fewer and fewer net taxpayers, who’s going to pay for it all?
It’s probably much the same story in the rest of Australia.
An economy needs lots of inexpensive, reliable energy to survive and thrive and Australia has shut down its supply.
Plus we need a free enterprise system, which is constantly under attack by Australia’s mostly communist “leadership”, including the PM himself.
(PAYWALLED article.)
110
Australia’s $1.1 billion per year far Left taxpayer-funded propaganda unit, Their ABC will be doing a hit piece on TRUMP tonight, even though he has done nothing illegal.
They claim his net worth has increased dramatically, which may or may not be true.
In any case, they ask no questions of the huge number of Democrat politicians who have unaccountably become extremely wealthy even though none of them have ever had honest or proper jobs outside politics. And Nancy Pelosi is one of America’s most successful stock traders and consistently outperforms the big professional investment funds.
Their ABC hit piece will go to air tonight Australian time. Or you can watch online on ABC iview after its release. Like everything from Their ABC it will be vomit-worthy.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-09/chasing-trumps-billions/105870916
150
Trump made a boatload of money off Truth Social and Trumpcoin launches while he was out of office. Not sure if he has divested in order to turn those gains into real money, or if they remain unrealized gains on paper. If he’s still invested, those gains are going to disappear rapidly as neither investment is viable in the long-term once he is out of the public eye. If he cashed out early, then he is sitting pretty.
61
The natural consequence of their ABC’s muck raking is to support what I always say.
Audit every elected government official and appointed public serpent on the way in and audit them all on the way out. Then invite them to explain any discrepancies.
Somehow, I don’t think anybody at their ABC is capable of contemplating the consequences of such an idea.
110
10
Several days ago President Trump replied to a question about his business interests from an Australian journalist from their ABC and pointed out that Trump Family business is handled by family members.
21
Even as a Trump supporter, that answer offers me no solace. It’s the same excuse Nancy Pelosi and every other dirty politician uses to hide their grifting gains from government service. I just assume Trump is getting his beak wet like all the rest of them.
00
I’ll bet they don’t interview Trump and ask him directly about it. …and if they don’t, their speculation is worthless.
10
The Left love the word “sustainability”.
It is behind all their bad anti-science, anti-engineering, anti-reason, anti-freedom policy choices.
But it is essential a meaningless concept.
Whether something is sustainable or not comes done to free market economics.
If a resource becomes scarce, in the free market the price will increase, and at some price point substitutes will be found or developed for the scarce commodity. Problem solved.
90
I’m pretty sure nobody who knows me would describe me as being of the left.
But sustainability isn’t a meaningless concept to me. It is related to the law of natural consequences.
For example spending more than you earn is not sustainable. Price fixing is not sustainable. Investing in assets which appreciate in value is sustainable.
And of course there is a more nuanced version of sustainability which relates to time frames. Often some action is sustainable for a short period but not a long one.
Viva la difference!
80
Negative entropy is extant for only short periods of time: in the long run entropy prevails.
20
I always enjoy the description of entropy which goes something like
1. You can’t win;
2. You can’t break even; and
3. You can’t quit the game.
00
I don’t disagree Forrest.
As I said, “whether something is sustainable or not comes done to free market economics”.
I meant it was meaningless in the sense that the Left use the term, not normal people.
41
When ‘sustainability’ overrides the essentials of animate existence it is a nonsense. Alternatively it is a weapon unrelated to environmental matters, to be used to enforce massive social changes that would never be acceptable if put directly to the voters.
10
“Sustainability” is pure fantasy. Everything is subject to change- usually in the direction of deterioration. To pretend that all energy on the planet is NOT fundamentally nuclear energy is a childish fantasy. Cut out the false economy of “Renewables” and the world will suddenly become a happier place.
101
I got this from the Senate enquiry regarding my submission on misinformation:
Thank you for the submission to the above inquiry. I write to advise that the submission has been accepted by the committee and will be published on the committee website as submission number 207 and can be viewed here.
Personal contact information and signatures are removed from submissions prior to publication. If you have any concerns about the publication of your submission, please contact the secretariat urgently.
Your submission as accepted and published by the committee is protected by parliamentary privilege. This means it is unlawful for anyone to threaten or disadvantage you for making the submission or for its contents. Please contact the secretariat if you believe that anyone has threatened or disadvantaged you as a result of the submission you have made.
The committee is required to report by Wednesday, 4 February 2026 and its report will be published on the inquiry webpage . You can sign up to receive emails when new information about the inquiry is published by clicking “track inquiry” on the inquiry webpage.
Thank you for participating in this inquiry. Should you require any further information concerning the committee’s inquiry, please contact the committee on (02) 6277 3024 or by emailing [email protected].
This is the link that did not transfer in the copy/paste:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Information_Integrity_on_Climate_Change_and_Energy/ClimateIntegrity/Submissions
I like the Parliamentary privilege bit. It makes me think about the audience that might look at those submissions. It would be way different to JoNova or WUWT where I regularly post. So nothing new from me but a wider audience might take offence at my quick fix of selling off their ABC and CSIRO.
190
Well done Rick.
100
The 5 “scary” stages of AI
https://youtu.be/YX0j2KSkr0A?si=Exp7H5ADgNNY7KX0
Yes, it’s a 7 month old video and already behind.
The frenetic pace of development and breakthroughs are making it come real right now. ASI by 2029? Totally possible if it continues unchecked.
Just yesterday a multi-layer reasoning model was released with a 10 million token processing ability that outperforms 1 billion token alternatives.
Yes, that’s right, ONE percent.
That’s like a string linetrimmer outperforming a 5 litre v8.
Everything’s simultaneously shrinking and improving like you can’t imagine.
It’s like the entire computer age happening in 6 months instead of 60 years.
Again, don’t confuse toys like ChatGPT and (already obsolete) coding assistants with real advances.
PhD level thinking is already here, independent functioning in new environments here, independent reasoning here, tactile sensitivity exceeding humans here, athletic abilities exceeding humans here, collaborative working with instantaneous transfer of skills here, AI training other AI here, coding bug processing with regressive error analysis here (and damn good too), autonomous unit runtimes now in hours with wireless charging, stability and posture issues resolved and more.
Don’t underestimate it all because it’s coming hard and fast.
30
It is staggering what is being achieved. Look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9L2WGf1KrM
This little computer can run 67 trillion operations per second. Cost id USD249. It will run large language models like ChatGPT.
I can see that the climate scam is in the rear vision.
AI is the new threat to humanity. It will be the next big thing for UN to try and suppress to get their much needed income stream.
It is a truly great time for inquisitive and creative minds.
I would love to see an AI driven racing car competing against human drivers but probably a while off that yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feTxamTHQAA
And I would not want to be the human driver.
But race tracks have been the development arena for motoring technology for over a century and will likely be the place for rapid advancement in AI controlled transport. I would prefer to see the AI technology perfected on the race track before it gets set free on public roads.
30
Repeated from a very late post in yesterday’s
After a bit of research from a link posted on one of Jo’s pages, I found a bit of interesting things.
Just wait ’til you see what REAL AI is going to do for medical treatments?
It all depends on learning how to ask the leading questions.
Applies to search engines as well.
[quote]
An AI system didn’t just design a new drug for pulmonary fibrosis; it first figured out which protein was causing the damage (TNIK), then designed a molecule to shut it down.
…
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) discovered using generative AI. IPF is an age-related progressive lung condition with no current therapies available that reverse the degenerative course of disease.
[]
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03743-2
20
That looks like horse manure. But it is Nature, which has been a joke for a while now.
“Idiopathic “ means F I I K.
Covid 19 TM is among the known causes of pulmonary fibrosis ,and the list is very long.
Betcha the newly designed molecule is safe and effective.
🙂
50
I’ll believe it when it re-writes Windows 10 and releases it without it ever needing updates…
50
The California helicopter crash
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_t40nd69NGJ1z23obp.mp4
Helicopter
[hel-i-kop-ter]
noun
A million parts rotating rapidly around an oil leak waiting for metal fatigue to set in.
60
Lucky they came down in the Palm Trees – Saved all their Lives by not slamming into the Ground.
As a Lot of Commentators said – only use if being picked up by emergency helicopter
Says me, having flown in Huey in Army, Robinsons R22 & R44 Bungle Bungles, Kings Canyon, Ayers Rock, KakaDon’t, Whitehaven Beach, Island off Cairns, Bell Jet Rangers Grand Canyon just beating Snow Storm, Boston with Company Hosts down to Factory South of Boston, JFK to Hudson River New York Helicopter after Concorde, Airbus Helicopters in Europe incl Nice to Monaco
40
Headlines The Australian & Sky News
– Victorian schools are making life-altering decisions about children’s gender identities in secret, sparking outrage from parents and medical and legal experts.
– Jacinta Allan’s crime Utopia rests on twisted sense of justice
– Woman charged with more than 200 offences sentenced to two years in Victorian crime wave
– Magistrates Brett Sonnet and Leon Fluxman erupt over ‘significant’ Victorian crime wave
– Some of nation’s biggest retailers sign an open letter to the Victorian government over crime epidemic
– HiCaps and Tyro terminals used by doctors and dentists to rebate Medicare and insurance claims seized by crooks in Victoria
– Victorians divided over controversial plan to lease out prison beds to other states in the middle of its crime crisis
– Allan government’s bail reforms branded a ‘joke’ after Judicial College of Victoria releases official guidance
– Locals say safe-injecting centre has turned Melbourne neighbourhood into ‘war zone’, sharing shocking images of public drug use and crime
– ‘Lawless state’: David Southwick pushes for youth crime reckoning amid spate of machete attacks, break-ins in Victoria
– Victorian crime statistics get ‘worse and worse and worse’ every day
– Victoria in a ‘dysfunctional’ state as crime rates are skyrocketing
– Soft policing, lenient sentences: Victoria now the state of choice for Australia’s criminals
– ‘Too far gone’: Ex-cop exposes grim reality of Victoria’s crime crisis
– Veteran media star Peter Ford vows to leave Melbourne after feeling ‘disgusted’ by city’s crime rates following ‘five-break-ins’
Then you read https://www.theage.com.au/ and none of the above is ever mentioned – The Age living in Fools Paradise
170
There is an underworld and the government spin doctors are hard at work.
‘Melbourne also retained the title of Australia’s Most Liveable City and fourth in the world, according to The Global Liveability Index 2025.’
51
How on earth was that decided upon?
Did the locals get a chance to vote on whether ‘Bleak City’ deserves such a rating. ? Were all the people leaving the joint asked anything?
The mind boggles.
80
Electronic voting : mail-in at a pinch.
20
Maybe the truth really lies somewhere between normal daily life and the hysterical media reports. The is a lot of confirmation bias going on for those who engage in traditional Oz parochial BS.
00
I have always wondered how these decisions are made. Some are laughable,like a remote, hard-to-get-to beach in SW WA, as a top beach. Also well known for nearby shark attacks and no restaurants or bars nearby. They never say, bring your sandwiches and take your insect repellent.
40
‘No wonder Victorians don’t feel safe’: Teen brags about being ‘addicted’ to stabbing hours after arrest over attack on father, son
A Melbourne teenager has bragged about being “addicted” to stabbing hours after he was allegedly involved in an attack on a father and son, with the state opposition declaring it is “no wonder Victorians don’t feel safe” given the lack of consequences for young offenders.
A Melbourne teenager has bragged about being “addicted” to stabbing, hours after he was allegedly involved in a brutal attack on a father and son.
Victoria Police arrested five teenagers early on Sunday morning after two men were allegedly “set upon” and stabbed outside Melbourne’s Crown Casino.
Three teenagers claiming to have been involved in the incident returned to the scene on Sunday afternoon, with one showing off handcuff marks and another saying “after you stab someone, you get addicted to it”.
50
A Melbourne resident has described the incredible moment he chased down and restrained a teenager after his home was broken into.
Police say the home on Kinkora Rd in Hawthorn was broken into by two teenage boys about 3.25am on Monday.
The resident, 40-year-old Grant, said he went to investigate after he heard a noise inside his home.
He confronted the two teenage boys, one aged 14 and the other aged 15, who were skulking around the ground floor.
They fled the scene.
Grant told Sunrise he chased the teens out the back door and down the street while dressed in his jocks.
“I was yelling at them and they took off, and I got a hold of one of them,” he said.
Grant said four teenagers were asleep upstairs at the time of the break-in.
“What do you do, someone is in your house, you want to get them out,” he said.
Grant explained that one of the teenagers was trying to jump over a nearby fence, so he “just pulled him back down and held onto him”.
“I made the kid call triple-0 once I caught him … I didn’t have a phone on me,” he said.
“He just said, ‘You can call the cops, just don’t hurt me’.”
Grant says he managed to restrain the teen until police arrived.
Police took the 15-year-old into custody and later arrested the 14-year-old boy.
Police say they are investigating whether the boys were also involved in an aggravated burglary in Elphin Grove just prior to the incident.
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Its the biggest shakeup in decades, the Commissioner wants boots on the ground.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/13/victoria-police-restructure-overhaul-crime-trust
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Police have also arrested the resident for aggravated assault. Maybe not yet, let’s see tomorrow.
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“‘No wonder Victorians don’t feel safe’: ”
…because they confiscated all their guns and made ‘self-defence’ an invalid reason to get a firearms licence.
‘An armed society is a polite society’
‘Govt will only confiscate your guns when they are going to do something to you that that you would shoot them for’
‘Armed people are citizens, disarmed people are subjects’
When all the country is a gun-free zone, you can expect the criminals to be busy. The times firearms save someone’s life or prevent a crime in America is never mentioned in the Lamestream media, you only hear of the gangland shootings. The answer to Melbournes problem is right in front of them, but no Govt wants an armed citizenry.
““He just said, ‘You can call the cops, just don’t hurt me’.” Grant says he managed to restrain the teen until police arrived.”… and took him to hospital suffering from multiple fractures and severe contusions..
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All their guns werent confiscated in VIC or anywhere else.
Not stating self defence is no barrier to getting a firearms licence. In fact there has been surge in the enjoyment of target shooting in the last 12 months.
Agree with basic sentiment though. The law seems to be complely backwards in the way it seems to pander to perpetrators and appears to give zero concern for victims.
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Probably why QLD crime rate has gone down a little, they’ve moved to Vicdanistan.
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Retro recall. Are you ready for the internet?
https://youtu.be/XpZ5STahhPE?si=kPiUn9WTNl81_AyD
Tomorrow’s world, 1994.
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FWIW – how it is done
“Math Is Not Our Thing”
“Dan Knight- “They Never Asked What It Would Cost”: Budget Watchdog Testifies Liberal Government Never Calculated Impact of Immigration Surge
In a stunning moment of honesty before Parliament, Canada’s own budget watchdog just confirmed what every sane person already suspected: the federal government under Justin Trudeau and now Mark Carney has never even bothered to ask what this out-of-control immigration surge is actually costing the country.”
https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2025/10/12/math-is-not-our-thing/
What’s the betting?
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FWIW
“Brandon Straka Sums Up Democratic Socialism’s Failures in Five Minutes”
“Brandon Straka, founder of the WalkAway movement from the Democratic Party, is now challenging antisemitic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York’s mayoral race, because “if you think the future seems scary, you have no idea what a scary future looks like until you’ve lived under ‘democratic socialism.’” ”
More at
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2025/10/12/brandon-straka-sums-up-democratic-socialisms-failures-in-five-minutes-n4944772
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A good news story for today.
Just heard on local radio that a “new study” has shown that Australians will save $2500.00 per year on their energy bills. This is terrific news only problem being this saving will not be realised until 2050.
What, wait, if I live to be 115 years old my power bill will reduce. Well I am damn well gonna do my best to hang on. Sucking on the public teat, demanding the government provide everything to keep me going till the prices come down!
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A significant portion or the savings will be via your smart meter and limited hours of electricity supply provided.
sarc.
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…that’s not sarc!
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I have a badly performing solar system. The first inverter died and was replaced under warranty, the second failed and warranty was rejected because it was beyond the 5 yr warranty of the first. No idea why I accepted this [our consumer law prohibits this, don’t spray me] but the system was so bad I gave up.
Trying to get installers to quote on replacing the inverter and tweaking the cells was a bridge too far. Do you want a total new system? Politely telling them that I was 80+ and not interested in a 20 YRofC they just hung up.
I gave in and asked for a simple inverter replacement. Final cost $2,000 and peak return is 800W or today 8kWh which I will have used, no export, and thus saved $2.40 on my power bill. Days aren’t always this bright so I am looking at a 3 YRofC just on my repair.
This is a sceptic’s site, be sceptical.
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Jo,
if I may beg an Indulgence to ask if any of your Contributors know any Young 4WD Enthusiast, who would be interested in (and can afford) $35K for a 1 Owner since 13 Dec 1994 Toyota Land Crusier Series 80 GXL 4.5l EFI with 119,000Km and if they are, if they could contact you for my email address and I can send full details re History.
A leaked Queensland police memo reveals general-duty RAV4s may not be able to handle extreme driving conditions, as their battery packs could overheat.
Around 200 vehicles have so far entered service, but an internal memo has surfaced revealing that in extreme conditions, the RAV4’s hybrid battery pack may overheat and enter ‘limp mode’, reducing outputs to protect the hybrid system.
As someone who Road Tested New 4WD Vehicles across Australia for a Journo Mate and had “Limp Mode” happen in the Middle of Nowhere on a number of occasions, it is something that will not happen with my Series 80
At the moment I have asked Toyota Land Crusier Club of Australia if they might have a Member interested, before going to Commercial Sites
with the following Blurb
For Sale: My 1994 Toyota LandCruiser Series 80 GXL120,00 Kms – A Lifetime of Adventure, Ready for Yours – 💰 Asking Price: $35,000
I am 80 Years Old with Lousy Knees, and I’m selling my 1994 Toyota LandCruiser Series 80 GXL — a vehicle I’ve owned since new, purchased on 13 December 1994 from Bill Buckle Toyota in Brookvale.
After 30 years of careful ownership, it’s time to pass it on to someone who’ll appreciate it as much as I have.
This LandCruiser isn’t just a car — it’s been my companion across deserts, mountains, and outback tracks. It’s crossed the Simpson Desert, tackled the French Line, and supported expeditions with my best mate, a 4WD journalist. It’s been part of family memories, road tests, and remote journeys where we didn’t see another soul for days.
Despite its age, it’s only travelled 119,800 km — and it drives like new. I’ve always believed in preventative care, and every service has been done properly. From the 10,000 km mark, it’s been serviced by ARB Traction 4 Artarmon, using Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil and Premium 98 fuel.
🔧 Modifications & Accessories – Over $46,000 Invested
I had hoped my grandkids would take up the 4WD life, but sport and school have taken priority. And now, at 80 years old with knees that aren’t what they used to be, it’s time to let someone else enjoy what I’ve built.
💰 Asking Price: $35,000
This is a turnkey adventure rig — fully equipped, lovingly maintained, and ready to go. If you’re looking to start your 4WD journey with a vehicle that’s been cared for like family, I’d be proud to see it go to you.
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Around 200 vehicles have so far entered service, but an internal memo has surfaced revealing that in extreme conditions, the RAV4’s hybrid battery pack may overheat and enter ‘limp mode’, reducing outputs to protect the hybrid system.
Are you talking proper hybrid or plug in hybrid? The difference matters and while plugin would be suitable for “general duties” to assume they can do a highway chase is ludicrous. BTW A straight hybrid is capable of V6 acceleration when overtaking a road train.
BTW Plugin hybrids are the worst of both worlds, sans range anxiety, but you don’t have that with hybrid or straight ICE anyway.
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Given how useless is the Kambrook 2 Slice Toaster, that replaced our 25 Year Old Toaster – filaments look about 1/10th thickness of previous, and takes ages to Toast
Similarly replaced 30 year old Old Westinghouse Double Oven and Grill with new Westinghouse Oven and Grill – Grill Element looks about 1/3rd the size of original Grill Element
So this appeals – But Ouch the price?
It took 10 years to build, but does it deliver the perfect toast?
The humble toaster is ubiquitous in kitchens around the world. And no matter how fancy, they all tend to work the same way: bread goes into slots at the top, thermal elements line the inside, and a slider or dial decides how long the bread is heated for.
But a research team led by Australian engineers has been working to break that mould for the past 10 years, wanting to alleviate the minor everyday frustrations of re-toasting bread, burning toast or guessing at settings for unfamiliar loaves. And this week, their efforts have finally borne fruit.
If a toaster could see the bread changing shades, the researchers thought, you could put in white bread or brown bread, seedy or sourdough, raisin toast, bagels or even frozen bread, and it would stay in for however long it needed to be done to your preference.
Making that determination, it turns out, was the easy part. Creating a reliable toaster that can actually measure colour change in bread was a bit more complicated.
But this week, Breville is unveiling a finished product with the tech inside, and the Eye Q Auto toaster — in a two-slice model for $469 or a four-slice for $629 — really does watch your toast to tell when it’s done, while more or less still resembling a normal toaster.
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When AI is added they will be able to charge $1000 for the toaster and some people will pay that.
I will stick with Amazon 2-slot $27.
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Did they have a look at these?
“Australian Variants of the
Sunbeam Radiant Control Toastermatic Toaster.
https://johnrogers.com.au/toastermatic/
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A single slice in a two slice toaster is always uneven. Why not a single slice toaster? I’m askin’.
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FWIW
“Opinion: Activist media trying to shutdown scientific debate on meat”
“WITH the ink not even dry on the latest study recommending a reduction in meat consumption, activist groups are wasting no time in their efforts to prevent any voices opposing the study.
Even before the EAT Lancet 2.0 study was officially released, an organisation called the “Changing Markets Foundation” (CMF) issued a report attacking scientists who had previously raised scientific concerns about the original EAT Lancet study.
CMF highlighted what it termed 20 “mis-influencers”, which included respected academics Frederic Leroy, Frank Mithloehner, Nina Teicholz and Diana Rodgers, and implied that they are part of an industry-funded conspiracy to provide misinformation.”
More at
https://www.beefcentral.com/news/opinion/opinion-activist-media-trying-to-shutdown-scientific-debate-on-meat/
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Just chatting with my neighbour who had the solar/battery installed a couple of weeks back.
He has 10kW of panels; 27kWh battery and 7kW inverter. Cost to him was $13k from a local installer who has been doing commercial installations. Not quite big enough to go off grid but will have zero energy demand for most of the year. He calculated a 4 year payback on recent billing.
Another nail in the coffin of wind turbines.
Most days through summer, his solar system will be exporting.
Working day in SA and rooftops supplied whole State from 1pm to 2:30pm. Next to no wind so grid solar in SA finding 350MW demand across the border while curtailing 240MW through the middle of the day. It is an interesting curve to see the grid solar being exported:
https://explore.openelectricity.org.au/energy/sa1/?range=1d&interval=30m&view=discrete-time&group=Detailed
Nearly all gas and import over night with batteries chipping in before the solar hit. Gas forced price to $323/MWh through early morning. Grid solar now paying $11/MWh to export into the grid. It is only the consumer theft that gives the grid solar an income.
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Did he opt in to the grid being able to draw from his battery?
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Not yet. But he will consider it after somer experience with the system.
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So he can’t go off-grid.
Will he be buying gas for the winter nights?
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Like me, they have also taken the Vic offer of OPM to replace their ducted gas heating and evaporative cooler with reverse cycle so they do not need to use gas for heating. However the do like their gas fire and have only just got prices to install heat pump hot water. They also still have gas cooktop.
Their priority was to get away from the high cost of electricity, which they have done. I expect they will see how the system goes through next winter before capping the gas. But it would be bad economically for them to keep the gas connection when they are exporting electricity a few cents per kWh and important gas at greater cost per unit of energy. Gas works out about 3 times the cost of heat pump for heating in Victoria getting both from the grid. If you are getting most from your roof then it provides compelling justification to get rid of the gas. But it is not a priority for them.
There is a looming shortage for gas in Victoria next winter. It could be a choice between having electricity or having gas heating. It is not a huge problem for me because we can do without both but others might find it tough going. In any case, preemptive rationing could mean no actual shutdowns. Time will tell with that one. If there is a gas shortage and severe rationing then that would spur more households to get off gas.
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So with the Opportunity Cost added, that’s a $16k payback. Over four years, he would have to save $4000/year to pay it back in that tine. That’s a huge saving – will he actually save that amount a year? And was he really
paying over $4000/year for his electricity?
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“Cost to him was $13k from a local installer”
So households able to afford a $13k upgrade will be able to mitigate (or even avoid) skyrocketing electricity costs.
Those of lesser means not so much.
That’s very progressive.
Equity inbound.
I guess Australians without sufficient resources to believe in Science and contribute to stopping Climate Change deserve to have what little wealth they’ve been allowed to keep transferred to the more virtuous.
So the deserved virtuous get even further ahead.
They are like indigenous English and American MAGA in that way.
Plus many are likely vaccine hesitant.
I hope Dan Andrews is compiling a list of these incalcitrants.
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I as a scientist do not identify with these so-called “scientists” and this nonsense.
I wonder how much tax Leftists will extract from us because of this?
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“Rising sea levels could plunge more than 100 million buildings underwater by 2100”
They are NOT scientists, they are soothsayers! Who give a sh1t about 2100, they won’t be alive, as dead as nearly everyone else on the planet at the moment. How anyone could think a degree from McGill University is worth more than toilet paper is beyound me!
Sadly, McGill is higher than 5M….
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Silver being squeezed on the LBMA. The shortage of the metal is not as pronounced in the US so while there is a squeeze in London the shortage is worldwide.
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Sharri Markson in tears reporting on the return the first 7 hostages in Israel. I have not been confident that Hamas would honour the deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sReRxFy8fEw
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All 20 hostages are now back in Israel.
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Surprisingly little positive response here.
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How do we let them ‘save face’ and quietly drop net-zero to shift back to the ol’ ‘no Australian child living in poverty’ one?
Remember – status matters more than facts….
https://michaelwest.com.au/one-in-seven-australians-poverty-stricken-report-says/
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“Cassandra Goldie insists the government needs to take urgent action.”
Love it!! The perfect recipe for disaster, followed by nothing happening about the problem! Still, it makes her giant salary safe..
Someone said yesterday that my idea of Govt not being allowed to give money to people, the balliwick of Churches and charities, was wrong. Well, I’m sorry, but I’m right! The Govt has had 35years of fixing this problem and completely failed! Now can we get back to a Libertarian Govt that keeps out of social issues it doesn’t belong in? Leave this to the Churches to fix, if you want help, go to Church! ..if you can’t bear the thought of being in a Church, ask a charity!
Of course the poverty line is considerably higher than what my household brings in, so maybe we should look at that definition to start with!
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My daughter was brain damaged at birth, prolly because her umbilical was cut too soon.
She is now nearing 60, I am still her guardian and carer. I have had a modest middle class life which has allowed me keep a roof over her head and for her to live a good life. Why should the Church compensate for medical malpractice? Why should I be forced to go cap in hand to charities who have others in need?
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” Why should the Church compensate for medical malpractice? Why should I be forced to go cap in hand to charities who have others in need?”
Why should I pay to bring up your daughter?
Why is the Govt responsible for the birth of your daughter anyway? All that is done on the proceeds of crime, money stolen from working people and given to others by a Govt using thugs to enforce its will.
It is morally wrong.
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Fortunately the selfish have not inherited the earth.
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For now.
If the support for the less well off was handled through the churches, NGOs etc would not the government of the day consider the cash value of this support “renumeration” and want to handle its processing through the income tax system?
At the moment, it seems to depend on how “go fund me” and crowdsourcing programs are actually “written”.
And varies from country to country.
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FWIW – the “Streisand Effect” alive and well
“D Vance and the Contemporary Media Landscape
This morning, Vice President JD Vance was on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Ignoring the major issues of the day, Stephanopoulos yammered on about Tom Homan. That led to this rejoinder by Vance, which in turn caused Stephanopoulos to angrily end the interview:”
“Bevan is right. The clip of Vance devastating Stephanopoulos will be seen many more times on social media than the interview was seen on television. This Week is relatively highly rated, with a reported 2.5 million total viewers. But the tweet embedded above has been viewed 1.1 million times, and that is just one of many instances of this clip on X. Vance’s own posting of the clip on X, for example, has been seen 1.7 million times. And the clip is on other platforms as well.”
More at
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/10/jd-vance-and-the-contemporary-media-landscape.php
Via https://instapundit.com/750363/#disqus_thread
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The ultimate example of the Streisand effect is the sombrero meme. If the tame media hadn’t called it “too awful to show” or words to that effect no one would have cared much.
Nothing lasts forever and the Lesco Brandon meme was overrun in the leadup to the election. The sombrero may last longer but this embeds three different leftist shames. I LUV it.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2025/10/1759769287821blob.png
a search on “We are all sombreros” at powerline might find it.
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direct linking to this resource is not allowed….
powerline blog seems to have had ambivalent thoughts on public access recently…
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FWIW – you may not agree but have a listen!
“Starmer hangs on. Merz collapse”
https://rumble.com/v707hpa-starmer-hangs-on.-merz-collapse.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a
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There’s a lot going on up there-
“Images of satellites taken from other satellites are increasingly being released. Maxar recently shared photographs of China’s Shijian-26 Earth-observation satellite taken by its WorldView Legion 2 spacecraft from a distance of 29 km. In response, Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST) subsequently shared its own imagery of Maxar’s satellite taken by its Jilin-1 at 55 km – the first time CGST has publicly released images of another satellite in orbit.”
You don’t spy on someone else’s satellite from the ground, you do it from your own satellites.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/10/china-roundup-202510/
Starship 11 tomorrow morning about 9am Sydney time…
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