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
Ukrainian Film on the Real Zelensky – The War Criminal
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/ukraine/ukrainian-film-on-the-real-zelensky-the-war-criminal/
232
Now the truth starts to appear only with Zelensky’s stunt.
As hundreds of billions disappear and Ukranians suffer.
20% have left the country largely from areas not directly affected by the war. The largest country in Europe by area and population is also the poorest (not counting tiny Moldova). Which needs explanation while people talk of vast wealth.
Europe has been so anti Russia since the wars of 1805/1815/1855/1905/1914/1922/1939/1941 and the cold war of 1945, everything is Russia’s fault. Not the continuing fascist kleptocracy in Kiev.
371
Even when Zelensky’s men blew up the Russia’s Nordstream pipeline, strangling German power supplies, outrageously Russia was blamed for blowing up its own pipeline. Which made no sense at all when they could have turned off the tap. Sure, as Russian agents burned down the Reichstag.
Once the pepetrators were charged, the twisted media story was that, yes Zelensky ‘knew’ but he couldn’t stop his own men from doing what he asked them to do. The government sponsored media have been covering his tracks from the start. And DOGE has been exposing the billions being paid to news outlets to change the truth, the only possible explanation for all the money. It wasn’t for advertising.
280
And as the legacy media are financially strangled to death by the internet, journalistic ethics and jobs have been thrown out the window. Even in the Australian, everything Trump does is twisted to make him the villain. As Cameron Stewart says, he is ‘deeply flawed’. Which is a pernicious slander. But to be fair, a Washington reporter has to say that or no one would talk to him.
320
As per yesterday, today the SMH is still full of anti-Trump pro-Ukraine stories, they are using this incident in a maximum effort to discredit him. That suggest the UK have primed Zelensky for exactly this role, the poor victim being hung out to dry by the wicked Trump.
171
Same with the Melbourne Age. ( saw the front of it at a coffee shop yesterday). TDS continues!!!
121
Same as the Worst Australian this morning. Absolute gibberish
20
TdeF,
The most likely culprits for that was the USA with assistance from Denmark . This is supported by the analysis of “who benefits” and who had means , motive and opportunity .Which countries who are now supplying expensive gas to Ukraine ?. Seymore Hersh blew the whistle on this .
100
‘Zelensky’s men blew up the Russia’s Nordstream pipeline …’
According to the WSJ and Guardian.
62
No. I never read such red rags. The real story is that all boats/ships carry transponders in the Baltic. Meticulous analysis by the Germans of all shipping in the area determined a rented sailboat was likely involved. The men were tracked down and they have been charged. The whole story is out there in detail, names, addresses, an undercover unit with at least one German resident with prior history with Ukraine commandos. The prior knowledge and authorization of Zelensky has been stated. The media have been burying the story.
200
So?? Nordstream was blown up AFTER Vladimir Putin started his invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine was already at war and if Ukraine did blow up an enemy’s pipeline, that is legitimate warfare.
710
Except Ukraine continued supplying gas through the pipelines running through its territory until early December 2024. They were paid rental by Russia. The supply was cut off by the Ukrainians prematurely after Russia announced they weren’t going to supply (Austria) who decided not to pay them for the gas anymore.
70
Against Russia, agreed in a time of war. Anything is possible.
Except they might have asked their major allies first!
It was devastation in Germany and the Germans were very upset at this attack on their own country, manufacturing and welfare, not that of Russia. It also proved Donald Trump right about their dependence on Russian gas, which was politically a disaster.
Now they know it wasn’t Russia who blew up the gas supply in an act of war by Ukraine, clandestinely and blamed Russia. This is treachery against an ally. The Germans finally understood that Ukraine played both sides against each other. That government now doesn’t exist.
100
Um – you might want to check your rules of engagement there: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/when-are-attacks-civilian-infrastructure-war-crimes-2022-12-16/
Just because the allies did stuff in WWII and there are movies about it, doesn’t make it OK
10
” you might want to check your rules of engagement there:”
The Russians will just say the electrical system is used to move missiles and tanks via Ukraine’s electric trains. Ukraine of course has been shelling blocks of flats in the Donbass for a decade, and now every night they blow up civilian cars or people waiting at bus stops with their drones.
All is fair in love and war… I’m amazed that Russia left any bridge at all standing in Ukraine, they have always had the capability to take them out and it would make moving heavy military equipment more difficult. They’re not really fighting a war.
20
But lobbing a missile through the sarcophagus over Chernobyl is OK.
00
Anyone who says they know who blew the pipeline is a 1yer.
10
Poor Russia, bullied by Ukraine. Donald will come to the rescue.
1036
Ukraine is nowhere near being the country with the largest population in Europe. It has 37 million. Amongst others Spain, Germany, France, Italy and the UK all have more people.
There is barely any part of Ukraine not affected by Russian attacks including the west.
71
No quibble about area then? And at least nine million have fled and likely excludes the Russian controlled areas in the Donbas and Crimea, at least another 10 million.
And ‘affected’ is an interesting choice of words. The attacks outside the relatively small conflict area have been almost exclusively strategic targets like power supplies, despite front page news if a residential area is harmed by either side. Kiev is an integral part of Russian history, the original Kievan Rus. Odessa is intact. Sebatopol was destroyed utterly by the Germans in the last war and rebuilt by captured German labour. These are Russian cities built by Russia after 1800 before there was a Ukraine which only existed notionally on a map until 1992. No one is trying to destroy Ukraine. Even Zelensky speaks Russian as his native language.
170
Incidentally, many of the streets of StKilda East and Caulfield in Melbournistan are named after Crimean War battles, ships, people or locations.
Alma Road, Redan Street, Crimea Street, Sebastopol Street, Odessa Street, Malakoff Street, Inkerman Street, Balaclava, Blenheim Street, Nightingale Street (after the nurse), Pakington Street, Raglan Street, Westbury Grove, Westbury Street.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-russians-are-coming-eventually-20041017-gdytey.html
https://danielbowen.com/2014/03/02/ukrainian-names-in-st-kilda/
81
Ballarat too has Malakoff Street, Raglan St, Inkerman Street, and the suburbs of Redan and Sebastopol.
70
I visited many of these places in Crimea. It’s a bit of fun for a Melbournian or anyone who shops along Balaclava road. The Alma river. And stopped at the town of Inkerman on the train. And the Earl of Cardigan is there. However Raglan is also a common name for such Melbourne streets as cut off others, often along a railway line, such as in a Raglan line on a knitted jumper around the armpit to the neck. Many suburbs have such a Raglan Street. Like having a High Street. Blenheim was the much earlier battle which made Churchill famous. And I can only think the names attracted Jewish Russian settlers as familiar, because it the now the major Russian/Ukranian and Jewish suburb in Australia.
Just before the Crimean war, there was the nutty call to arms in 1853 when Melbourne declared ‘the Russians are coming’ and gathered to the sound of ships cannons across the bay. Residents ran to the beaches with shovels, picks, axes. And the Governor galloped from Government House to the beach. It was a little noisy celebration of the end of quarantine for a plague ship at Elwood, a celebration which grew out of proportion. Crowds gathered on Flagstaff Hill to see the Russians allegedly blowing up all the ships in the bay. In fact it was the old British ship seconded to the colony to protect Melbourne with a preapproved firing of cannon. And some other ships joined in for fun.
Such was the fear of the Russians and the dreaded ‘black sea fleet’ at Sevastopol.
100
St Kilda is itself named after a boat.
30
Which was named after the island of St. Kilda. The ship was Lady of St. Kilda.
40
The UKR used to have 37 million people before this conflict. Many, many have left the UKR and many have been killed.
70
Ukraine population reached 52 million. In 2000 was 49.56 million. I know families who fled from criminal government violence, oppression and theft, not the country.
120
Maybe after the war is over it will be a better place! From all accounts it was a backward hell-hole of corruption beforehand.
Were there signs of that area going ahead after the USSR broke up TdeF? The incidental backgrounds in videos I see show a very traditional USSR way of life through most of Eastern Europe, with long plots of land to grow your own veges, or Soviet high-rise blocks of flats.
40
It’s a very dispersed village way of life, with villages much smaller than in Australian towns. Often just an intersection of roads and a few houses. People want to get on with their lives, enjoy their families, worship. They are very religious, often superstitious. And the land in the great steppe is endless. I visited little villages. They were amazed to see people from Australia. And delighted. Life is good even if the winters are deadly. Their protection was the vastness of the steppe. No one wants war.
50
I have lived my long life under the threat of Russia going rogue, which it does often enough but without resorting to nukes, so far, ergo I desperately want The West to grasp the nettle and free Ukraine, and put Russia in a box at the same time. [the killing could be stopped quickly because air dominance could be achieved in 48 hrs if NATO chose to]
But you must remember that war time leaders have a short shelf life, Churchill was unloved both before and after the war and Zelensky is no Churchill.
I don’t want The West discussing Ukrainian surrender terms with Russia, I want them discussing victory with Ukraine. It is tantalisingly close, have faith.
21
In order to ™️Build Back Better™️ (in their own image, no less) first they must destroy it, totally.
Where’s Larry F!nk and his ‘investment fund’ cohorts in all of this… signing up another round of LFAs – loans for ammunition?
Then again, Europe’s never been the most ‘peaceful’ place on Earth, just ask any Neanderthal.
190
Here is a history of Ukraine from George Christensen. A longish post. Sorry. ToM
Zelenskyy’s mask slipped during a fiery confrontation with Trump and JD Vance in the White House, proving he is not a grateful ally but a desperate puppet.
Ukraine has always been historically tied to Russia, and its so-called independence was only ever made possible by Western interference.
The US and NATO deliberately orchestrated Ukraine’s turn against Russia, using coups and propaganda to install a puppet regime that serves their interests.
Zelenskyy is possibly a Western intelligence asset, propped up by globalist elites while enriching himself at the expense of his own people.
The war in Ukraine was never about democracy—it was a Western-provoked disaster meant to weaken Russia, and now that it has failed, Zelenskyy is being cast aside.
When Vance asked a simple question—why isn’t Ukraine showing gratitude for the billions of dollars in aid—it triggered an outburst. Zelenskyy, instead of thanking the US for bankrolling his war effort, accused America of not understanding what’s coming. Trump, never one to back down, reminded him exactly where he stands: “You don’t have the cards right now.” And he’s right.
Zelenskyy has never been in control of this war. He isn’t some heroic leader calling the shots. He’s a desperate man clinging to power in a crumbling regime, propped up by Western money…
[SNIP]
…The real architects of this disaster have been sitting in Washington, Brussels, and London, playing their geopolitical games. The war in Ukraine was never about protecting democracy, and it certainly wasn’t “unprovoked.” It was engineered—deliberately—by the West.
[SNIP]
We now know that Zelenskyy funneled millions of dollars into offshore accounts—money that could have gone to his people. He allegedly used it to buy:
A $34 million mansion in Miami
A seaside home for his parents in Israel
A $3.8 million luxury apartment in London
This is the man the media calls a hero.
Time to Wake Up
Zelenskyy can yell all he wants in the White House, but his game is up. Ukraine was never an independent player in this war—it was a pawn. A pawn used by Deep State actors in Washington to weaken Russia. And now that the war is lost, that pawn is being abandoned.
[SNIP]
[From George Christiansen — NationFirst – Read it all at Substack — Jo]
81
Can’t disagree with any of that…
20
I read it a couple of days ago; a very good article imo.
10
Don’t believe everything you read Annie.
00
Mollie@MZHemingway
Yesterday, Susan Rice said of the Trump-Zelensky meeting, “There is no question this was a set up.”
She revealed full knowledge of the mineral agreement, complained that it didn’t include “concrete” security agrees (meaning, apparently, commitment of US troops on the ground if conditions merit), and then mischaracterized Trump’s behavior, counting on most Americans to not have watched what transpired over the entire hour in the Oval Office.
You can look at this and dismiss it as typical Democrat talking points, but you could also view it as almost a confession, one that includes details about the current “Get Trump” effort.
Yes, Trump won the popular vote against unbelievable odds, but if you think Team Obama is being any less involved in quiet insurrections than they were during the first Trump administration (Russia collusion, Ukraine impeachment, etc.), you’re clueless. I’ll remind you that Susan Rice was in the small Jan. 5, 2017 meeting in the WH with other key Russia collusion hoax perpetrators.
Zelensky repeatedly declined opportunities to sign the deal in Kyiv and Munich, and requested the meeting at the White House.
It later came out that Rice and Tony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, and Alexander Vindman may have been personally advising Zelensky to do this meeting in the way he did — that they recommended him to be hostile and to try to goad Trump into blowing up.
Even though he didn’t, and even though Zelensky’s actions horrified many normal Americans, the Obama team went on the airwaves to falsely characterize what happened.
I think their goal was to have a wonderful performance by Zelensky, an angry Trump appearing to scuttle the deal, and the support of the neocon portion of the GOP to start applying pressure on Trump to have US Troop commitments as part of the “security guarantee.” It was a set-up, in Susan Rice’s interesting choice of words.
290
Disaster in the Oval Office: Dems lead Zelensky, Ukraine off a cliff with pressure to reject mineral deal
By Michael Goodwin
A common criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous Friday performance in the Oval Office is that he failed to read the room.
Actually, the Ukrainian president did read a room — but it was the wrong room.
Before meeting Trump, Zelensky met with anti-Trump Democrats who advised him to reject the terms of the mineral deal the president was offering, according to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
“Just finished a meeting with President Zelensky here in Washington. He confirmed that the Ukrainian people will not support a fake peace agreement where Putin gets everything he wants and there are no security arrangements for Ukraine,” Murphy’s office posted on X at 11:15 a.m. Friday.
He attached a picture of Zelensky at a conference table, with Murphy seated on the opposite side.
Forty minutes later, Zelensky arrived at the White House, where Trump met his car, smiled, shook his hand and walked him into the Oval Office.
270
The race to the 2028 election is now on. This was the Democrat’s first strike against Vance. Who gives a damn about the Ukranians?
220
Domestically Vance is on a winner there but we have the privilege of observing, potentially, the most tumultuous couple of years of US history since the Civil War. The mid-terms will be decisive and whoever wins them will be a shoe-in in ’28.
After the mid-terms the (R)s will lose the Senate or gain a super majority. Place your bets just don’t bet on the status quo.
00
Ozzie,
It is quite likely that the “minerals” in question have already been “bought” by someone else and a lot of them are now under Russian control – Starmer signed an agreement with Ukraine for “100 years” and that’s the likely reason. The UK is also on the hook for guaranteeing much of Ukraines debt and that is a powerful incentive considering their national debt . Trump probably knew this and decided to walk away from a losing deal – the USA cannot continue to throw fuel on the Ukraine dumpster fire.
130
The free enterprise model.
‘A former spy and close friend of Vladimir Putin has been engineering a restart of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe with the backing of US investors, a once unthinkable move that shows the breadth of Donald Trump’s rapprochement with Moscow.’ (Financial Times)
81
Russia seems very pleased with events
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-celebrates-united-states-foreign-policy-coinciding-moscow-ukraine/
43
If the pipeline is reopened, I wonder if Western Europe will take the gas or choose energy starvation?
Or will they buy gas from the United States as TRUMP wants them to do?
Remember how the Germans sneered at TRUMP when he suggested Germany would lose its energy independence?
Who’s laughing now?
https://youtu.be/eKEycjREgPE
130
Russian gas was (and will be I think) cheaper than liquified gas from the United States (as currently) and from Iran & the Gulf States.
With Germany in recession they would be suicidal if they didn’t take the opportunity, but then their politicians are quite stupid.
100
Germany could easily have energy independence, using their own coal plus nuclear plants. If they are too stupid to do the obvious … well, then potentially all other stupid moves are still in play.
60
Germany has a lot of lignite. Would they be stoopid enough to get back into bed with Russia the minute the bullets stop flying?
Vance thinks they will.
00
Old Goat
The link following by CSIS – Centre for Strategic and International Studies breaks down in detail what was proposed, what was changed and the final deal that was to be be signed – seems pretty fair to me
As Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “What’s really important here is to understand the dynamic. The president is basically saying, there’s this horrible war. It’s been going on for three years.
It is a bloody stalemate, a meat grinder type war, and he wants it to end.”
“How does it end? It’s very simple.
The only way it ends is if Vladimir Putin comes to a negotiating table.
And right now President Trump is the only person on earth who has any chance whatsoever of bringing him to a table to see what it is he would be willing to end the war,” he said.
“Now, maybe their demands will be unreasonable.
We don’t know. But we have to bring them to the table.
Breaking Down the U.S.-Ukraine Minerals Deal
The agreed upon framework does not designate the rights of $500 billion worth of minerals revenues to the United States nor does it include a security guarantee for Ukraine. Rather, the agreement establishes a reconstruction investment fund with joint U.S. and Ukraine ownership.
Ukraine will contribute 50 percent of all revenues earned from the future monetization of all Ukrainian government-owned natural resource assets into the fund.
This includes minerals deposits, oil, natural gas, and other relevant infrastructure, but, notably, it does not include resources that are already serving as a revenue source to Ukraine, such as the operations of Naftogaz and Ukrnafta, Ukraine’s largest oil and gas producers.
This means, the profitability of the fund is entirely dependent on the success of new investments in Ukraine’s resources.
A2: Mining is a long-term effort—so the United States may not yield benefits for another 20 years.
Ukraine still needs to undertake a comprehensive geological mapping. From the time reserves have been identified, globally, it takes an average of 18 years to develop a mine and costs $500 million and $1 billion to build a mine and separation plant. Even in the long-term, the success of the bilateral agreement ultimately hinges on the ability of Ukraine to attract private investment in its mineral resources. The U.S. government cannot command private companies to mine in Ukraine as China and Russia can with their state-owned enterprises. While government-to-government agreements can be a helpful market signal to the private sector and spur investments that may otherwise not occur, the barriers to investment in Ukraine pose immense challenges that the bilateral agreement will be unlikely to surmount with additional financial and/or security resources.
80
Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained President Trump’s stance on why now is the time to get Russia and Ukraine to come to the table to end the war, not to allow the war to go on another year hoping that Russia will be in a worse position.
“I’ve asked every foreign minister I meet with to tell me your idea of how this turns out. Most don’t have a plan,” Rubio said.
“A few have said, ‘Well, let’s give them another year of fighting, a year from now, a year later, after another year of death, another year of destruction, then maybe Putin will be ready to negotiate at that point.’
That doesn’t sound like a good plan to me, and it certainly is not a plan the president’s on board with.”
“What’s really important here is to understand the dynamic. The president is basically saying, there’s this horrible war. It’s been going on for three years. It is a bloody stalemate, a meat grinder type war, and he wants it to end.”
“How does it end? It’s very simple.
The only way it ends is if Vladimir Putin comes to a negotiating table.
And right now President Trump is the only person on earth who has any chance whatsoever of bringing him to a table to see what it is he would be willing to end the war,” he said.
“Now, maybe their demands will be unreasonable. We don’t know.
But we have to bring them to the table.”
100
A mine is a hole in the ground with a liar standing over it. What minerals?
01
Did Democrats Sabotage Zelenskyy’s Meeting With Trump Before It Even Started?
Matt Margolis
In the wake of the fiery Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Vice President Vance, Democrats quickly launched an astroturf campaign attacking Trump, blaming him for the meeting’s dramatic turn.
But were they actually responsible?
It really is hard to explain why Zelenskyy seemed so disrespectful during the meeting and tried to negotiate in front of the media. But this may actually have been designed by congressional Democrats who met with Zelenskyy before the Oval Office meeting. In fact, it was Sen. Murphy who admitted as much on social media.
This meeting took place less than an hour before Zelenskyy walked into the Oval Office.
What happened next was a diplomatic disaster for Ukraine. The 40-minute Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy deteriorated after Zelenskyy bizarrely confronted Vice President JD Vance on camera about diplomatic solutions to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Throughout the meeting, Zelenskyy was antagonistic and dismissive, publicly rejecting any possibility of a ceasefire with Russia—a bizarre take for someone who claims to be interested in peace.
The bitter irony? Trump was prepared to offer a very Ukraine-friendly mineral rights deal that could have significantly benefited Zelenskyy’s war-torn nation. But it looks like Democrats didn’t want Trump to get a diplomatic victory and literally sabotaged the mineral rights deal at the expense of Ukraine.
Clearly, Zelenskyy’s cardinal sin was meeting with left-wing partisans right before sitting down with the president of the United States. It was a colossal mistake if he really wanted to achieve a deal.
Here’s what Zelenskyy needs to understand—and quickly: Democrats care more about undermining Trump than Ukraine’s security. The days of getting endless blank checks are over, and Zelenskyy needs to figure out that Trump and the Republicans hold the cards, not Democrats in Congress.
By antagonizing President Trump at the urging of desperate Democrats, Zelenskyy is alienating the one person who can actually help Ukraine. Rather than standing up for his people, he’s allowing himself to be used as a political pawn.
171
Trump is always in his element in front of the cameras and doing the WrestleMania trash talking. Not only that, but Trump was on his home turf, with his VP running wingman and poor old Zelensky was trying to use a language he isn’t so familiar with.
Classic Face vs Heel storyline … worst strategy ever to go up against Trump in that situation.
10
20% have left the country largely from areas not directly affected by the war.
If those 20% had fled to Russia or Belarus to evade the wrath of Zelenskyy, then there could be some truth to Skepticynic’s link, but they didn’t. They were wise enough to know that Russia would not stop using the same persuasive methods it used on their new territory, outcomes clearly shown on the presentation.
44
Wrath? What wrath? The ones I know personally wanted to avoid compulsory conscription. The average age of the Ukranian soldier last years was 45. These are married men with young to teenage children. There have been country wide operations to allow families to escape. As for Russia, I found it a much safer and richer place than Ukraine even for tourists. The poverty of the Ukranians is profound and many cannot afford fuel for the winter. Tuberculosis is at epidemic proportions and antibiotics are very expensive. Whatever wealth is in Ukraine, the people never see any of it.
160
As for Russia, I found it a much safer and richer place than Ukraine
So according to your experience, Ukraine would be better off embracing Russia?
62
Immediately, yes, they would all be far better off. That however is not the point.
There is a really violent hard core of Ukranian Nationalists, closer to the IRA than the government. Extremely anti Russian as the IRA are anti British. And the series of often violent kleptomaniac governments in Kiev have been a rolling disaster for the people of Ukraine. A cross between the Mafia and Fascists. There is no way to tell if Zelensky is an elected leader of a Democracy or the head of a violent criminal fascist group. Europe claim the first and Putin claims the second.
People have been fleeing the country for years. One government used snipers on public demostrations. And most Presidents end up in jail. The idea that it is a peaceful, happy democracy is pure fantasy. The people are now suffering another proxy war and the German tanks are back in Kiev.
This war is as sensible and just as Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Angola, Afghanistan, Libya, Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Kosovo, Croatia..
Stop the war and let the people choose in a supervised ballot. Where is the UN? Not to be seen.
This good guy/bad guy John Wayne categorization of a civil war is insane. Most of the world’s governments are military dictatorships pretending to be democratic free societies. Ukraine is no different. Yes, people are more free and richer in Russia even with the problems around Chechnya and the boiling pot area of the Caucuses where there is always a war underway.
191
It was only in 1865 that a million Americans were killed by other Americans in their own civil war over differences in policy but mainly in economics. And it was a near thing. In today’s terms that would be ten million. Often family against family.
It’s a terrible thing. And a total failure of government. The war saw the development of the exploding shell, the handgrenade (sergeant Shrapnel), the submarine and much more. Technology boomed. And after the war the slaves were freed to flee North to zero jobs and nowhere to live.
Civil wars, all wars are positioned as right and wrong, good guys and bad guys. But at their base is usually money and power. A lot of people have to die pointlessly until both sides have had enough.
I am on the side of Trump who wants to end the war. And strangely many people just want to beat the Russians. Why is beyond me, let alone how. It has been that way for two centuries.
I guess governments have to have chosen mortal enemies and distracts from talking about China currently running live fire naval exercises off the coasts of Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.
If I was to pick a country, possibly the world’s biggest arms supplier and involved in almost every war I know, I would pick the French.
180
You answered your own question “Why?”. Isn’t two centuries enough?
00
‘Ukraine will never win this war’: Donald Trump recognises basic reality that other Western leaders refuse to confront
US President Donald Trump realises that prolonging a war Ukraine is losing is not an act of solidarity – it’s a recipe for more suffering, writes John Mac Ghlionn. SkyNews.com.au Contributor and Global Political Commentator
Peter Dutton recently attacked Donald Trump over his stance on Ukraine, eager to cast him as clueless and out of touch with global affairs.
In the world of psychology, we call this projection—accusing someone else of the very flaws or blind spots one refuses to acknowledge in oneself.
A closer examination, grounded in Scott Horton’s meticulously researched Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine, reveals that Trump’s skepticism toward endless military aid to Ukraine isn’t misguided.
It’s spot on.
To dismiss his position is to ignore hard truths about Ukraine’s rampant corruption, the war’s hopeless trajectory, and the self-destructive nature of Washington’s foreign policy establishment.
Far from being a Kremlin apologist, Trump recognises a basic reality that many Western leaders refuse to confront: Ukraine will never win this war.
Horton painstakingly documents how Ukraine, despite billions in Western aid and military hardware, faces an adversary with superior manpower, resources, and industrial capacity.
While enduring its own significant losses and economic strain, Russia can sustain a prolonged conflict that Ukraine simply cannot.
Zelensky knows this.
His government’s frantic measures—including the conscription of men off the streets—are the actions of a regime in freefall.
Forcibly dragging men from cafés and nightclubs under martial law doesn’t scream strength.
It screams desperation.
Yet, the Western media, with few exceptions, plays its part in selling the myth of a winnable war.
Reports of catastrophic Ukrainian losses are downplayed or ignored, while minor Russian setbacks are sensationalised.
151
“Reports of catastrophic Ukrainian losses are downplayed or ignored, while minor Russian setbacks are sensationalised”
I see this all the time on Youtube. It is all wrong and obviously propaganda. Who is funding it?
130
“Who is funding it?”
That’s what the AmericanAid budget was for!
40
‘ … obviously propaganda …’
Yes indeed, the sin of omission has a big impact, colours perceptions.
On the question of demographics, those in the know make their escape early.
‘An upper estimate is for 700,000 Russians to have fled conscription since it was announced. Many went to Kazakhstan, Serbia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, and Finland.’ (wiki)
‘Immediately, yes, they would all be far better off.’
You’re on the wrong side of history, comrade.
20
The Australian Perspective: Britain Is in Worse Shape Than You Thought: https://dailysceptic.org/2025/03/02/the-australian-perspective-britain-is-in-worse-shape-than-you-thought/
Sir Keir Stalin has imprisoned British people complaining about the Invasion of British territory by non-Russians, and the non-Russian rapists, and the non-Russian terrorists, who turn out to be charged with terrorism anyway. Stalin has also imprisoned Tommy Robinson for violating a court order used to cover-up the fact that Stalin’s Party used taxpayer money to pay off witnesses using a non-Disclosure agreement.
We have a non-Russian invasion supported by the Border Force and RNLI people traffickers. The combined British and Russian population of London are in a minority. Also, about five million vaccine injured and one million rape victims are gaslight by the government and mainstream media. According to Wikipedia, Britain is the rape capital of the world. However, the rapists are not ethnic Russians. But Stalin wants the British Army to protect Ukraine from Russian rapists, but does not want any ethnic British recruits to join the RAF.
However, Sir Keir Stalin and the Conservative Party are doubling down on banning free speech using (1) The Investigatory Powers Act 2016, (2) The Office For Censorship, Obedience & Manipulation (OFCOM), (3) The Security Service Military Intelligence section 5 (MI5), (4) The National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT), (5) The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), (6) The 77th Brigade Domestic Psyops Team, (7) The Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) and (8) The Defence and Security Media Advisory Committee (DSMA), using five active DSMA-Notices, censoring issues such as criticism of Britain by the Trump team during the Zelenskyy meeting, for locking up people for violating the ban on ‘Free Speech’ by the British Censorship Industrial Complex (see above). DSMA-Notices are also being used to cover-up how the mRNA jabs killed the Queen and Prince Philip.
I personally have had two police officers from Humberside Police, ‘Check my Thinking’. They left my house without arresting me. I think it was a tactic meant to intimidate critics of the government. This was under the Cameron regime which introduced behavioural psychology to try and brainwash the British public to support the undemocratic authoritarian European Union dictatorship.
However, Stalin has told Trump and Vance he wont arrest and imprison American citizens. Only British, Australians and other non-American citizens.
391
I’ve always thought it strange how a commie like “Sir” Keir Starmer accepted a Norman feudal honour like a knighthood.
Then again, not so strange.
Just your standard Leftist hypocrite.
310
Yes. He is indeed a commie.
200
Like the old joke about Russian president Leonard Brezhnev, well know for his Italian suits and hand made shoes.
So, Leonard dies and goes to heaven, the first person he meets is his mother.
Leonard, my son, such a beautiful suit.
Leonard, my son, such beautiful hand made shoes.
You are so lucky the communists aren’t still in power
140
In common with Trot Albanese or Leninist Adam Bandt.
120
Excellent commentary about the Zelensky meeting with TRUMP.
TRUMP was right.
https://youtu.be/oC3Ko0CGgiU
181
This video came up on the same web page:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk8YIXwodvA
Europe has now met with Zelenskyy after his disaster with Trump and all of Europe is supporting Zelenskyy continuing the war. Starmer is saying that it puts Ukraine in the strongest possible bargaining position for cease fire negotiations.
No one in Europe is talking to Putin. Europe is doubling down on sanctions.
This war could get really hot very quickly with USA on the sidelines but at least talking to Russia.
190
The fact that Zelensky met with the Democrats (#1.3.1) immediately before his meeting with Vance and Trump means is outrageous!
Clearly Zelensky was being advised on his next best move against Trump. Vance was right. Zelensky and the Democrats are a team.
In the circumstances, that’s close to treason by the Democrats. And who knows what they promised him to prolong the war? It is possible Trump could have them all charged as acting directly against the Commander in Chief and the elected government in a conspiracy to keep the war going and risking WWIII which is not hyperbole. Trump will be considering whether they should have to explain what they discussed and advised, as they had no legal authority to do either.
If Pelosi and friends can invite people into the Congress building and then jail over 1,000 people for years, the members of this little meeting can be charged. They are not the government of America and directly and knowingly undermined the strategy of the Commander in Chief. It’s one thing to be the party in opposition. It’s another to secretly play games in a world war scenario against the elected government. They advised against imminent settlement of the war when Zelensky had been backed into a corner. That is treason in a time of war.
260
The Logan Act should cover this. Throw the book at those Dems.
110
“This war could get really hot very quickly with USA on the sidelines but at least talking to Russia.”
…and THAT gives way to the SF story of decades ago about British freedom fighters fighting the American occupation forces in England..Europe & the UK against America and Russia.
01
Australians fought GIs in Brisbane. Does that mean we are enemies?
Battle of Brisbane
The Battle of Brisbane was a riot that took place on November 26 and 27, 1942, in Brisbane, Australia. The conflict involved American military personnel and Australian servicemen and civilians, despite both nations being allies during World War II.
The incident began when Australian soldiers came to the aid of an American soldier who was being harassed by U.S. military police.
The violence escalated, resulting in one Australian soldier being killed and hundreds of Australians and U.S. servicemen being injured.
Yank MPs were a law unto themselves. An Aunty lived close to Kissing Point, Townsville and believes the small arms fire they heard were executions. It culminated in a riot by black GIs who were treated as slaves.
Black GIs Riot in Townsville
In May 1942, about 600 African American troops from the 96th Battalion, US Army Corps of Engineers, stationed at Kelso Field near Townsville, Australia, mutinied against their white officers. The mutiny involved two companies of the battalion who fired machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons into the tents of white officers, resulting in an eight-hour siege. At least one person was killed and dozens were severely injured. Australian Army units were called in to contain the rioting troops.
The mutiny was triggered by racial tensions and abuse from white officers, leading the black troops to fire more than 700 rounds during the confrontation. Locals initially mistook the gunfire for military exercises but later realized the severity of the situation.
Historian Ray Holyoak uncovered evidence of the mutiny during research into Congressman (later President) Lyndon B. Johnson’s visit to Townsville in 1942. He found primary documentation proving that the 96th Battalion mutinied in an eight-hour siege triggered by racial taunts and violence.
Reports suggested that 19 coffins were ordered to bury the dead, although this remains unconfirmed. Journalist Robert Sherrod wrote a report on the mutiny, which was later suppressed.
The mutiny was one of the worst in United States military history and was kept secret despite references to the violence in war diaries of Australian infantry units.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.
In case you haven’t noticed sheet haappens.
00
If the war gets hot, with USA sitting on the sidelines then Western Europe will need what?
* Conscription.
* Higher taxation.
* Extensive crackdown on protest.
* Wartime austerity.
* War economy.
Do you think they will be supported by the European people?
50
You need munitions to have that kind of war. The armouries are rapidly being drained world wide. The only stuff that exists in real quantity are The West’s airforces. You can’t conscript pilots, they take too long to train, so all that can happen is a 1912 Overture type grand finale.
This isn’t hard!
00
I heard a piece on Australia’s ABC RN radio yesterday about the huge rate of cervical cancer in PNG which is due to a lack of qualified medical staff, lack of education about the matter, lack of HPV vaccinations and more.
It’s strange how none of the billions of USAID money or Australian aid money ($637.4 million 2024) is able to help these people.
Virtually none of the USAID money went to help real people with real problems, just woke Leftist fantasy causes like a transgender opera in Colombia or a transgender comic book in Peru.
No doubt money in aid from the Australian taxpayer is similarly wasted.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/
https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/png-heaalth/104972740
310
But surely the Australian (AUSAID)/Clinton Foundation previous collaboration on HIV/AIDS in PNG could easily be expanded to add a hospital wing to administer/coordinate HPV vaccinations. I mean that hospital that was going to be built did get built…. didn’t it? “We” (PNG/Aus) did get something for the $10,202,351.00 support.
40
It appears not.
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2016/08/on-papua-new-guinea-bill-and-hillary-missing-millions-and-the-promised-hospital-that-never-was.html
90
While Jane Hatton was boasting about ‘co-opting supply chains’ to get Australians COVID vaccines, people in PNG were travelling all over trying to find their TB medications which were in short supply
20
First check if the increase in cervical cancer started when the vaccines were given out, then check to make sure that PNG cervical cancer rates were any lower 50 and 100years ago, and finally start to look at what might be increasing the rates if they are. Perhaps they have had UN Peacekeepers there for some reason..
Last I saw, HPV vaccines turned out to be a waste of money..
30
What was the rate of cervical cancer in the “civilised” world 50 years ago when we had none of these things either? I don’t recall a pandemic.
BTW I’m not defending the aid thieves.
00
You may have heard of this Canadian “man” before. He is 56 years old but left his wife and children at 44 because he now identifies as a six year old girl and he has been “adopted” by a couple about his age.
This video is a critical view of what he did and the suffering of his family.
https://youtu.be/595EmC75aWk
50
More good news /sarc/ for those that have had the Jab.
Study of 9 Million Confirms Covid ‘Vaccines’ Cause AIDS
https://slaynews.com/news/study-9-million-confirms-covid-vaccines-cause-aids/
101
I’m surprised Nature published it. After all, they are fully woke and abide by the Official Narrative. At least they did until now.
The paper is at:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-50656-8
60
They still had to frame the conclusion Overall, we conclude that mRNA-based vaccinations are not associated with an increased risk of most AI-CTDs
00
Worst Flu Season In USA Ever!
shouted some newsbot woman out of my radio yesterday – after her 5-minute rant about Orange Man Bad and his lack of diplomacy [sic].
It would appear the immune systems of many, many people are not coping with minor afflictions and they’re going down: hmm, what could it possibly be?
160
As many others would probably attest the clot shot has turned many into human incubators and prolific and more potent mutations are the future. Apparently aged care homes are still pumping it into residents. Had family anniversary 10 days ago with some inoculated attending. In last 5 days have experienced waves of extreme tiredness resulting in daytime napping and periodic runny nose. Immediately increased the “D” intake and couple of other supplements but of course this is all just conspiracy theory and I should pull my head in no matter how physically real it is for me. LOL.
120
I never had the Jab/Boosters. I don’t get the Flu Jab. I know my Immune System and it is top notch. Long may it continue.
Oh yes, and I have not had the Flu since I was a young Man in 1972.
I do get the Common Cold most Winters though.
70
Interesting. How do you tell a bad cold from a mild flu?
21
A – you don’t need to
20
The referenced paper doesn’t refer to AIDS.
10
Notice how it’s primarily the Left (e.g. EU, Canada, Australia) who want to maintain endless warfare in Ukraine?
TRUMP wants it stopped.
On Leftist doctrinal matters we can always consult the instruction manual of the Left, Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four:
Endless, pointless war is the objective.
263
From the internet of things…
Description of “left-leaning”
Left-leaning economic beliefs range from Keynesian economics and the welfare state through industrial democracy and the social market to the nationalization of the economy and central planning, to the anarcho-syndicalist advocacy of a council-based and self-managed anarchist communism.
Description of “right-leaning”
The right includes social conservatives and fiscal conservatives, as well as right-libertarians. “Right” and “right-wing” have been variously used as compliments and pejoratives describing neoliberal, conservative, and fascist economic and social ideas.
I’m confused.
11
Surely recovering the 20% of their territory taken by Russia is not pointless. Any sovereign country would fight to regain its territory and would seek the assistance of its allies.
Would Australia just walk away if their territory had been invaded?
76
According to some bloggers here, it would be the smart thing to do.
Where would you go if Oz was invaded?
20
…or if the “original owners” took it back???
51
Last time it looked like Australia was going to be invaded. The plan was to abandon 1/2 and try to defend the other 1/2.
20
Take Victoria
Will pay $10 in assistance
80
The Brisbane Line would have had Australia well on the way to ceding the top half of the nation during WWII.
I’m not sure the people of Longreach and Winton would have taken too kindly to their new Japanese overlords.
101
I dunno, Japan has kept pretty low immigration. And they have flying cars ready to go now….
00
Been around for more than a decade, but not many jurisdictions will allow you to fly one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GSeQ9qUIr0
There’s really no technological barriers to flying cars … it’s entirely regulatory barriers and the simple fact that government hates us having any private transport let alone the nightmare of citizens going pretty much anywhere anytime. How the heck would they be able to impose a 5 mile radius with people flying about the place?
20
Australia and UK are almost on equal footing on this matter. Both countries have invited the people in who detest how life use to be in these countries and are reshaping it to their world view.
Poms still view Australia as a refuge destination but the problems are much the same. UK may be a touch ahead on progress toward a certain religious majority that know where a woman’s place is.
210
RickWill:
Like the gag that the Poms used to deal with crime by shipping the criminals to Australia. Now they avoid the criminals by shipping themselves to Australia.
100
It’s 14% and until 1956, Crimea (2%) was part of Russia, of Crimean war fame. Ukraine was only a country in 1992. Up till then, no one cared. The people who draw lines on maps have a lot of answering to do, especially around Kurdistan which was disappeared by Britain and France and Turkey. They still speak Kurdish and are still fighting for their country. As are the Basques. And the Irish.
And the Poles still want NW Ukraine back, from around Lviv, taken by Stalin. Plus the Polish/Russian war of 1922. And the recent attempt to grab the exclave of Kalingrad around Konigsberg. The Japanese are still technically at war about the Kuril islands South of Sakhalin in line with the Kamchatka peninsula and the Russian church domes are still there on the skyline of Tianjin which is now Chinese. The Korean war is still not settled.
100
Qingdao/Tsingtao further southeast by the Yellow Sea not only makes great German beer (pijio?) there is also a German-built meteorological station (a castle) which I visited in 1986 during a near-miss ex-typhoon flyby.
Zee Germans had departed almost 100 years prior to my visit yet their structures stood the test of time – besides, Chinese love their beer!
50
“Would Australia just walk away if their territory had been invaded?”
Already done a few times! Latest by the USA with bases and soldiers all over the place, I’ll bet you can’t get rid of them!
Who start a war and who goes?? Quite different people in the last few hundred years, the leaders we bitch about every day start it, yet the ones going to the front are the very ones moaning about their leaders. Old men start wars, young men die in them.
If you want Australia defended against anyone bigger than PNG, you’re doing it wrong! You need every Australian armed and trained to defend their place, and truly believing that Australia and its political system is worth dying for.. not have all the rich kids and politician’s brats immediately fly overseas while the poor get drafted and killed so the parasites at the top can maintain their lifestyle!
10
I think Ukraine is being selfish in not conceding territory to Russia.
01
Oh dear: according to my diary it’s Labour Day in Western Australia – apart from having a 3-day weekend, surely it’s not a sign of your upcoming election results?
Any ‘naval activity’ sighted off Fremantle yet? Garden Cove will be all a-buzz this week, no? Nihau comrade!
40
On Mon 10th March 2025 it’s also Labour Day in Victoriastan.
I guess we can celebrate the $120,000+ per year (US$74,500) paid to people who hold stop/go signs at construction sites.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/turning-a-stop-sign-for-120-000-a-year-what-its-really-like-to-be-a-traffic-controller/dlcjuxk11
60
“Labour Day in Victoriastan.”
I’m already practising, Push, Push, breath.
Push, push, breath.
50
Garden Cove, aka HMAS Strrling. Aka Fleet Base West.
https://www.navy.gov.au/about-navy/bases-and-locations/hmas-stirling
31
Didn’t see the TV footage of a sub parked off Rottnest Island out from Perth, with the crew sunbaking on deck? Think it was a Collins sub, not the American nuclear one currently visiting Garden Island.
50
Aa we on Australia froze over much of the summer, at least in Melbournistan, you will be pleased to know it was the second hottest summer eeevvaaahhh!
80
I can’t bother with your link. I presume he is outside the Chinese Embassy protesting about their use of coal and gas, or would that be outside the Indian Embassy?
80
This statement highlights that climate “scientists” do not understand solar power. They and their models are blind to how the precession cycle shifts the solar power across latitudes over the years.
Every year this century, there have been numerous new snowfall records in the northern hemisphere. This year was no exception. The bottom of the solar intensity in the northern hemisphere was 1582. That is the last time Earth’s orbital perihelion occurred before the boreal summer solstice. Since then the peak solar intensity has been making its progression northward to eventually reach its maximum in 9,000 years. Perihelion occurred on January 4 this year.
Historic high snowfall across much of USA:
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/historic-january-2025-snowstorm-southern-us
In Japan:
https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/2025-02-05-japan-snow-sea-effect-near-world-record
In Korea:
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/27/asia/seoul-korea-record-snow-intl-hnk/index.html
In Ukraine:
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3821398282354-record-snow-total-winter-weather-incidents-ukraine-iced-out-snowfall-brief
In Canada:
https://nationalpost.com/video/b153a178-f13f-11ef-aa86-eaeb71e9227a/montreal-deploys-thousands-of-workers-vehicles-to-remove-record-snowfall
The pattern should be obvious to anyone with the ability to comprehend data. The NH is warming up
The BoM are likely correct that 2025 was the hottest evah. But you have to realise that they deal in anomalies. It is a way of distorting reality. The place in Australia with the highest recorded temperature is Oodnadatta. Highest recorded is 50.7C. The highest is 2025 was 46.4C, So no where near the top. The average daily high in Jan 2025 was 38C. The average for the hottest was 42.3C. So the mean high temperature was 4.3C down on the record mean. But the average Jan minimum for 2025 was 23.2C compared with mean Jan minimum of 18.3C; giving 4.9C higher minimum.
So the average daily high was 4.2C down while the average daily minimum was 4.9C up. Clueless climate scientist can conclude that it is 0.7C hotter on average. A more reasonable conclusion is that the temperature range has narrowed. Days are not quite as searingly hot and nights are not quite so cold, The reason for the narrowing of the range is the same reason that the NH is getting more snow. The atmospheric water has a firm upward trend. This trend will continue for at least 5,000years but the summer solar intensity across Australia will be declining well before then. So far only December sunlight is declining.
So rather than giving insight into the real situation the climate scientist is hyping the story to fit the UN agenda.
130
Is there a doctor on the plane?
No, but I’m a climate scientist.
It’s hardly stopped snowing in New Zealand (down south) since last winter – every month a couple of dustings have graced the summits, quickly melting because, you know, it’s supposed to be summer.
Even now, today, it’s snowing on Mt Hutt (2086m) and will be until Wednesday when the southerly buster then hits the North Island where snow is expected on the volcanoes and high ridges.
https://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Mount-Hutt/6day/mid
Hottest EVAAAH apart from the cold & snow…
120
That single sentence tells me enough about the “scientist”. Why would I bother reading more gerbil warming propaganda?
140
Oh for a little precision.
Climate change does not make it hotter or colder, or wetter or drier.
Quite the other way around…
Hotter or colder, wetter or drier over an extended period IS climate change.
110
Touché!
Doubleplusgood reasoned observation.
40
More Miss Information. She is certainly getting a bad name.
30
The exchange in the Oval Office between the two presidents has been the subject of much hand wringing an angst by many commenters.
After everyone settles down they might realize that this just a part of Trump’s long term strategy to get the rest of Europe to do the heavy lifting to support Ukraine instead of the USA.
It’s already working since most of EU countries have already pledged support to Ukraine since the meeting and have now agreed on a peace plan. It’s Trump’s strategy that has caused this.
201
“… have agreed on a peace plan.”
Without talking to Russia?
Clever…
60
Yes, it is the South Park underpants gnomes all over again…
Step 1 collect underpants
Step 3 profit
60
The only thing America should discuss is a Victory plan.
00
When I was young American, I was taught that we must save Europe from becoming Communist.
We sort of did.
What’s the point of saving them now … from something they are choosing to become voluntarily?
Once long ago, if the Russians came, Europe would fall to Communism.
The near future may find that situation exactly reversed.
90
I doubt whether Western Europe is salvageable.
They don’t want to survive.
They have voted in politicians and invited in people who will destroy them.
Aa I said recently, the United States might become the only viable Western country. How it will survive in a sea of hostility against Western Europe who will soon be dominated by followers of the seventh century warlord (and with access to UK and French nuclear weapons unless TRUMP or Vance can retrieve or neutralise them), a hostile expansionist China and a (possibly) hostile Russia and a probably neutral India remains to be seen. TRUMP will also need to neutralise Iran and their nuclear program. Maybe the US will create an alliance with Russia. Perhaps this is what TRUMP prophetically sees.
50
“Maybe the US will create an alliance with Russia.”
You mean like the last time, 85 years ago, which (also?) defeated totalitarianism?
Prophecy is getting easier nowadays.
10
The US and Russia have never been an alliance, briefly they had a common enemy.
10
Anti-communism is in my DNA so I would like Australia to stay staunch. Thankfully I will not live to see the total collapse if it comes unless Trump crashes and burns in the very short term.
00
Are the Russians still communists?
Oligarch economy?
If oligarchs, how is that different from current dominance in Western nations?
One difference would be attitudes towards Free Speech.
Russia has arrested about 400 people for internet opinions.
UK about 3000.
Recently in Western nations, citizens were subject to legal action for asking if it came from a lab and resisting medical experimentation.
20
I’m a mechanic, play semantics with your alumni mates.
I am definitely not proud of my UK heritage if that’s what you’re asking.
00
For the record, I have no post high school degree and am barely tolerated by the few alumni mates I have, which be can be counted on one hand even if missing a finger or two.
What smattering of college I was exposed to, was entirely useless.
Mechanic … highly respected in my world.
Considerably more respectful and useful than the silly things I’ve done to feed myself.
00
80
A pessimistic view.
There was great demand at one time for the most able scientists and mathematicians.
The schools of mines produced specialized tradies.
And girls learned typing, dressmaking and cookery.
I’m not suggesting a broad aim of filling the young of the species with knowledge and awakening their intelligence, but it is overegging the pudding to suggest a broad aim of reducing as many individuals as possible to the same safe level.
As I recall the concept of social mobility was prominent.
30
I imagine it is totally different today but the first two years of high school had three streams: A: The doctors’ sons etc did the Academic stream where they learned Latin and French so they could become lawyers and doctors, the B: the sons of wharfies and train drivers where they learnt vital life skills such as physics, chemistry, and workshop and C: For the daughters of professionals [no free uni then and Dad wasn’t going to pay for a GIRL to advance herself], the workers’ and shopkeepers daughters and boys who today would be told they were transgender, where they learned typing and shorthand. [I’m sure everyone had more subjects than I mention. 😃]
Never thought of it that way before. Just as well things have changed.
00
The phrase roughly translated as “kill ’em all, let God sort them out” has its origins in 1209 at the massacre at Béziers. From Wikipedia:
“Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.” was reportedly spoken by Papal legate and Cistercian abbot Arnaud Amalric prior to the massacre at Béziers, the first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade, Arnaud being the military commander of the Crusade in its initial phase. A direct translation of the Latin phrase would be “Kill them. For the Lord knows those that are His own.” Less formal English translations have given rise to variants such as “Kill them all; let God sort them out.” Some modern sources give the quotation as “Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet.”, evidently a translation from English back into Latin, and so missing a biblical reference evident in the original.
80
FWIW
More tangled web?
“Did Ukraine Already Sign a Precious Metals Deal with the UK Back in January? Does President Trump Know About This?”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/03/was-zelenskys-big-lie-exposed-did-ukraine-already/
71
Wow!
TRUMP will be furious if this is true.
The EU and Zelensky really are trying to start WW3.
52
Putin is the only one threatening nukes, Zelensky has none, so it can be assumed that the war they “start” will be conventional. How much different would that be to what exists now, apart from Europe flying in REAL air power?
Today, a war over multiple oceans and continents is not possible so it will be held in an arena, like a football game or in Ukraine.
44
The concept of war in an arena like a football game reminds of Russell Braddon’s Year of the Angry Rabbit.
And although only science fiction that did not end well.
20
Or ‘Rollerball’, the original 1975 version and not the 2002 remake.
30
I read that book. Odd concept.
00
He is the only one who needs to currently. They all have their nuclear doctrines, he reminded NATO of Russias. If they launch multiple long range missiles with unknown warheads into Russia they know what to expect.
10
The rational thinker would expect MAD. But the insane mind turns to a winnable nuclear war.
As Slim Pickens said in Dr Strangelove, Yeehah!
00
‘TRUMP will be furious if this is true.’
No he won’t, its part of his master plan.
41
Reading minds and knowing the plans of others is fraught with uncertainty.
But Trump does seem to have a pretty comprehensive plan and does seem to be ahead of the game.
21
Donnie is a man in a hurry, only has four years to change the world. I noticed JD is already on the Hustings.
10
Yes indeed, a man in a hurry. And the septic tank of politics just keeps on bubbling.
Sometimes people even use nicknames as a way of diminishing people they don’t like. It inflames the passions don’t you know.
01
FWIW
“Firefox deletes promise to never sell personal data, asks users not to panic”
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/02/firefox-deletes-promise-to-never-sell-personal-data-asks-users-not-to-panic/
Via Istapundit
30
Maybe try Brave browser.
60
Excellent idea. I have been using Brave for a few years now and am very happy with it.
50
Their search engine is great for topics where results may otherwise be “coloured”.
30
Vivaldi browser…
20
Hmmmm!
“Will Cutting the BAC Limit to .05 Really Make Our Roads Safer?
Utah’s experiment with stricter drunk driving laws has led to more fatalities, not fewer. The push for lower BAC limits is missing the real problem.”
https://reason.com/2024/09/21/will-cutting-the-bac-limit-to-05-really-make-our-roads-safer/
“Pick the good year” in action!
70
Not to be ignored is that some people have a naturally high blood alcohol level due to yeast colonisation in the gut.
It’s called auto-brewery syndrome (really!).
It means that some people might have just one drink and be over the limit.
That’s why airline pilots in both Australia and the US have a BAC limit of 0.02%, not zero.
Also, I’m not sure there is sufficient evidence to prove 0.05% is significantly safer than 0.08% which is the more usual amount outside of extreme Nanny States like Australia, or Utah.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6831150/
100
Would you get in a cab if the driver blew 0.8?
20
0.08% was fine for decades.
0.8% would kill most people.
80
Missed a zero, should be 0.08.
30
Doesn’t worry climate scientists, don’t sweat it!
90
Question still stands – Would you get in a cab if you saw the driver had just managed to pass a 0.08 breath test?
10
No problem.
20
No worries – he won’t mind if I drink my beer in the cab
20
Assuming a typo and he wasn’t a teenager I prolly would.
40
Hey H, if you’re talking like that you probably wouldn’t know the taxi driver was over the limit. Used to use taxis quite a bit once the slurring started !
LoL
00
As I was saying…….
00
IIRC John Brignell had a look at this on Numberwatch but that site seems to have vanished
Again IIRC – I think it was reducing from 0.08 to 0.05
20
Miserable Derisible! A very limited and frankly pitiful Franco/UK attempt to forge peace in Ukraine is bound to go down in flames. The Hindenburg disaster in 1937, comes readily to mind. Starmer and Macron are a couple of fairies dancing around each others may pole with rainbow ribbons streaming behind. A multicultural Europe will be unable to put more than a couple of divisions on the ground let alone service them for more than a week or two. They’ll be as useless as “tits on a bull”. In the meantime dead Ukrainians/Russians and North Koreans continue to pile up.
112
“A multicultural Europe will be unable to put more than a couple of divisions on the ground let alone service them for more than a week or two. They’ll be as useless as “tits on a bull”. In the meantime dead Ukrainians/Russians and North Koreans continue to pile up.”
That’s what the mercs from the various Euro countries have found too! This is a REAL war, not America and a coalition of the willing up against some 3rd-world cave dwellers.
Currently most Western military advisors/black ops/ and special forces are hidden away and panicking about the next Kinzal aimed at their civilian hotel or underground bunker. Their is no way they would want to be in the open on a front line against the Russians, there’s no ‘try again-restart’ button out there.
10
Saw this posted a week ago and it struck a chord with me. I think most people here would find it relatable. :-
“I don’t want to connect my coffee machine to the Wifi network. I don’t want to share the file with OneDrive. I don’t want to download an app to check my car’s fluid levels. I don’t want to scan a QR code to view the restaurant menu. I don’t want to let Google know my location before showing me the search results.
I don’t want to include a Teams link on the calendar invite. I don’t want to pay 50 different monthly subscription fees for all my software. I don’t want to upgrade to TurboTax platinum plus audit protection. I don’t want to install the Webex plugin to join the meeting. I don’t want to share my car’s braking data with the actuaries at State Farm.
I don’t want to text with your AI chatbot. I don’t want to download the Instagram app to look at your picture. I don’t want to type in my email address to view the content on your company’s website. I don’t want text messages with promo codes. I don’t want to leave your company a five-star Google review in exchange for the chance to win a $20 Starbucks gift card.
I don’t want to join your exclusive community in the metaverse. I don’t want AI to help me write my comments on LinkedIn. I don’t even want to be on LinkedIn in the first place.
I just want to pay for a product one time (and only one time), know that it’s going to work flawlessly, press 0 to speak to an operator if I need help, and otherwise be left alone and treated with some small measure of human dignity, if that’s not too much to ask anymore.”
~ Robert Sterling
370
My new smoke alarm is inviting me to communicate with it via the cloud. Wonder if I would have to learn Chinese.
100
And in Fahrenheit 451 the little boy asks whether it is true that firemen used to put fires out.
90
Ask it? It is listening
10
Beautiful.
I found myself nodding my head as I read along.
I have been called a “nutter” because I refuse to do most of those you listed.
The critics are welcome to call me whatever they like but just like “conspiracy theorys” have proven to be true, most of the downside arguments for agreeing to do what you have listed have proven to be true.
140
A bumper sticker on a Tesla – words to the effect:
“I bought this before Elon went crazy”
He has the power to disable these vehicles if he so chooses.
30
Disable yes and the ability to reprogram the car remotely. If you get my meaning. If you understand MY DRIFT.
30
Its more than a bit pathetic that they think their Tesla purchase connects them in some way to Musk. Its just a car.
00
I saw that in Robert Malone’s Sunday Funnies. I like it very much; my feelings too!
30
A privately built spacecraft Blue Ghost just landed on the moon, delivered by a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
90
I was wondering if the Apollo flags were still standing so checked using Brave’s AI search engine. So easy and direct.
Apollo Moon Flags Still Standing
The flag from the Apollo 11 mission is not standing anymore. Buzz Aldrin observed it being knocked over by the rocket blast as he and Neil Armstrong lifted off from the moon.
However, the flags from Apollo 12, 16, and 17 missions are still standing, as confirmed by images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
These flags are likely badly faded due to harsh ultraviolet light and extreme temperature fluctuations on the lunar surface.
Despite this, the shadows cast by these flags indicate they are still intact.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.
61
50
Since then, the Norwegian Government has stated that Norway will continue to refuel US Ships.
30
Norway Disavows Private Company Refusing to Fuel American Ships –
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/norway-disavows-private-company-refusing-to-fuel-american-ships-russia-attacks-supply-line/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
20
I thought that the thing with the nuclear subs is that they don’t need fuel?
00
Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) to suspend some of its research into China opps, funding cuts from the USA are the cause.
52
Its only fair that the deputy sheriff in the South Pacific find the monies and take up the slack.
00
That fact that USAID was funding it is a red flag to me.
00
Somewhat “off-topic”, but this little docco fills in a few interesting “gaps”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=try3LAQxSAE
40
Basically a good commentary, although the graphics were pretty irritating.
Not ‘off topic’ on an open thread!
20
People might look if the topic was known
40
Here’s a video from last week of Dr Michael Kelly a physicist and Engineer and he’s a member of the Royal Society and has now joined the GWPF. He tells us that their so called NET Zero can’t work and will never happen this century. Like Australia this will cost the UK TRILLIONs of $ and there’s no work force to build the toxic Wind disasters and every house and city will have to be updated to force this lunacy on the UK.
He’s from New Zealand and held very high positions for the last 30 years and many of the Engineers etc tell him that they know NET ZERO is nonsense, but they just keep their head down and shut up. Here’s the Wiki link and the recent video interview.
Michael Kelly (physicist) – Wikipedia We Don’t Have the Money, Workforce or Materials to Achieve Net Zero: Michael Kelly
90
Sorry that Wiki link and the video didn’t work.
I’ll try the video link again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWn4bWr5IH4
40
A calm voice of reason – and RAGE – against the “act of faith” which is climate zero utopia madness belief transition self-destruction (did I miss anything?).
Watched only 10 min but I’ll go the whole hog later on… thanks.
20
TDef, The Holomodor was also not a nice place to live in The Ukraine.
30
It was mass murder by Stalin. It is possible Stalin killed more Russians than Hitler. But Russia is not Stalin or Lenin or even Putin. It is a lot of people who are like people everywhere else.
And with the left everywhere, life was cheap in the 1930s. And the destruction of the kulaks was part of Stalin’s vision for modernising Russia. For the same reasons Pol Pot slaughtered his own people and he was educated at the Sorbonne in the idea that cities were evil.
The mass murder of Russians by Russians was endless incluing WW1 and the Revolution, and always there were subtle differences, racial and religious differences. Excuses. You could look at Ireland or even the War of the Roses or the Albigensians in one Crusade and refused the authority of the Pope. Stalin was utterly ruthless in his social engineering and took great pleasure in how, when and where he murdered families. When Stalin died he was just about to slaughter all the Jewish doctors when Beria took the opportunity to poison him, knowing no doctor would come.
However that has little to do with the current conflict. Many areas of Russia were destroyed by Stalin, including deporting the entire muslim population of the old Khanate of Crimea. And the slaughter of Russians sent back by Britain, machine gunned on disembarking in Odessa as expected. But Britain chose to ignore and hide their complicity.
Amazingly the Russian people who survived the Mongols are as tough as nails and pragmatic and you would not have them as enemies. But Europeans while enjoying Russian science, mathematics, ballet, music and literature still treats Russia as another world. Few go to Russia. Perhaps the French who fought in the Russian and UK air forces against the Luftwaffe.
Any attempt to bring the Russians in from the cold by Trump is sensible and very pragmatic. They are not the enemy these days. That would be China wanting their time on the world stage.
40
Running on a bit, but what do the Russians bring besides having an upperhand over Theocracy? Nobody wants them in Europe but what are their attributes? If you can comprehend what’s taking place in Europe?
20
Russia brings enormous expertise to the human condition in so many ways.
They endure in the most inhospitable climate on Earth. This will be increasingly appreciated as the Earth moves into glaciation.
Russia provides the best possible example of the failure of communism. A lesson not yet learnt in the western world.
Russia has a climate model that is a reasonable predicted of the measured temperature rise. It is not useful but it is less useless than all the others combined.
Russia started the space race.
Russia invented the helicopter.
Russia gave chemistry the Periodic Table.
Russia owns ballet.
And Russia gave the world Tetris!
80
“Nobody wants them in Europe ”
They don’t want Europe either, they gave a lot of it back… But they are quite insistent that they be left alone politically, and that’s what Europe seems to have trouble with.
40
“Gave” a lot of it back? When? Putin is on record as saying he wants to retrieve the Russian empire. He has categriocally said and written it. That includes many EU and Nato countries.
20
Oil https://www.cpc.ru/EN/press/releases/2025/Pages/20250221.aspx
00
THe Russians say, we are a nation, that traverse half of the globe, you can have your religious sentiments, but Government holds the final say.
20
DM, the thing about this is Norway is a northern Eastern climate that gets cold as s, and electrical vehicles don’t operate so well in these conditions. So what is this? Just a dodge?
10
FWIW
“When you hear “climate change is forcing cyclones further south” – show them this map.
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2025/03/when-you-hear-climate-change-is-forcing-cyclones-further-south-show-them-this-map-.html
30
20-somethings & city folk may act horrified: at our age we’ve all seen it before and were told by our parents about their parents’ surviving storms heatwaves tsunami quakes plagues of locusts or were they honey bees…
A minor quibble: the BoM cyclone map is from 1970-2006 (36 years) yet the article says “the last 40 years”, which would be 1984-2024. Are you a friend/cohort of the author – maybe a little editing is required for accuracy’s sake.
BTW have saved the map (to add to my collection), thanks.
20
No real connections but I can pass the quibble on
10
Greg
Done
Ian
00
The moron that identifies as an energy minister says all the problems with CC will disappear if you simply go out & buy an electric vehicle!
00
FWIW
“Joe Biden Lost His Temper With Zelenskyy in 2022. Can You Guess Why?”
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/03/02/joe-biden-lost-his-temper-with-zelenskyy-in-2022-can-you-guess-why-n4937481
50
Cyclone Alfred: Monday update as Brisbane, SE QLD, NE NSW prepare for direct hit –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cGjmlaY_84
20
Such an ‘international’ presentation: NZ meteorologist Philip Duncan utilising American and European models for a Queensland troppo – which is aiming for my old stomping ground Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast.
Does not Jennifer Marohassey (spelling?) live there? Noosa Heads and Double Island Point will be GOING OFF BIGLY! And please, de-construct your trampolines before they fly to Toowoomba or beyond… Good luck!
40
Story tip
Scientists match Earth’s ice age cycles with orbital shifts
https://phys.org/news/2025-02-scientists-earth-ice-age-orbital.html
Beginning around 2.5 million years ago, Earth entered an era marked by successive ice ages and interglacial periods, emerging from the last glaciation around 11,700 years ago. A new analysis suggests the onset of the next ice age could be expected in 10,000 years’ time.
The findings are published in the journal Science.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp3491
20
Earth is an ice age now. Neither Antarctica or Greenland recovered during the current interglacial and the rest of the NH north of 40N is already being primed for glaciation.
Permanent ice is already advancing on Greenland and the summit gaining elevation.
50
Hopefully there will still be some fossil fuel left in the ground somewhere . .
10
This link on cutting jobs from NOAAwas just posted on WUWT:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/noaa-layoffs-trump-musk-doge/
What would Australia lose if it just sold off the BoM to the highest bidder. If no bids then just sack the lot.
30
I have been expecting this because NullSchool has a notice when you open it:
Weather and climate data shown on this website and countless others are at risk.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the U.S. agency responsible for global weather forecasting, hurricane prediction, ocean observation, and many other services vital to public safety. Its satellites, supercomputers, and research teams provide essential data that help us understand our planet and protect lives.
On February 27, the new U.S. administration initiated mass firings at NOAA. These actions are unethical and deeply disruptive to the talented scientists and engineers who dedicate themselves to the public good. The firings, along with expected budget cuts, have serious implications for the availability and quality of weather forecasts produced by the United States. They must be reversed immediately.
Much of the data on this website is downloaded directly from NOAA’s servers. In this environment of uncertainty, access could be disrupted at any time. While I’ll strive to keep all features on this website functional and switch to alternative data sources if necessary, some datasets have no substitute if they go offline.
If this concerns you, speak up. Share on social media. And if you’re in the U.S., contact your representatives.
– Cameron
Nullschool is an impressive site for weather data. It does not get CAPE quite right but it is only wrong in a few locations where bodies of water are almost surrounded by land.
10
Sacrificing the puppy?
00
When I followed up Simon’s comments a few days ago, I noted that they are also saying that their National Weather Service, NWS, will also be impacted. If the NWS is anything like our BOM, perhaps that won’t be a bad thing.
00
Simon mentioned this a couple of days ago. The staff being laid off are probationary, but this group includes recently-promoted staff.
00
FWIW
“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Announces U.K. Troops Will be “Boots on the Ground in Ukraine” Leading a European “Coalition of the Willing”
March 2, 2025 | Sundance | 539 Comments”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/03/02/british-prime-minister-keir-starmer-announces-u-k-troops-will-be-boots-on-the-ground-in-ukraine-leading-a-european-coalition-of-the-willing/
I presume the updated marching song is
“We’re going to hang out our washing on the Dnieper Line”?
10
FWIW – more around that (IMO)
“The EU Carnival Brings Same Old Road-Show to Town”
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/the-eu-carnival-brings-same-old-show
10
““British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Announces U.K. Troops Will be “Boots on the Ground in Ukraine””
Nobody has told him Russian missiles can reach Whitehall… Putin has said several times they ill strike at the home countries entering this war.
10
An explanation for the unfettered importation of foreign MAMs?
The indigenous MAMs, after being systematically culturally marginalized, no longer co-operative and patriotically motivated, their patriotism now subject to derision and suspicion?
Quacks like duck.
Walks like duck.
Often duck.
10
This bit-
“The crux of the entire thing lies in the fine-print of Starmer’s above statement…he states that the only way British-French ‘peace keeper’ troops can be brought on the ground is if they are back-stopped by US power. In short: Europe is too terrified to go it alone, and will not deploy troops unless it has American guarantees about backing them up, should Russia turn their peace keepers into toasted compost. The US has already rejected such possibilities numerous times, so Starmer and Macron’s charade is just more empty static.”
Also in Simplicious, a survey asking ‘Would you fight for your country?”
UK 27%
France 29%
Germany 18%
Poland 47%
Italy 20%
Greece 54%
Turkey 73%
Spain 21%
10
More attempts to force the US to do something they’ve said, repeatedly, that they won’t do. Or perhaps Starmer’s statement should have been “… will be boots on the ground IFF the US guarantees providing their boots too”. Which at least would be precise.
Even honest.
Though still futile.
But I doubt he’d know the usage of IFF as meaning “if and only if”.
20
FWIW
“UK media claims possible Russia collapse”
https://rumble.com/v6q1kfk-uk-media-claims-possible-russia-collapse.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
On that record of “How to win an election or at least not lose by much”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXx3lA1PVyE
there was the bingo call of
“Number 9 the party line” – IIRC
00
I like Hugo’s take. https://rumble.com/v6pv7n2-hgo-krger-trump-and-paypal-mafias-attack-on-south-africa.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
Net Zero for energy generation is already done – any carbon generating electricity production is well offset by all the solar panels and wind turbines that are there, if you include those off grid.
Tell them this crises is averted already. No need to keep arguing about the cause, it is taken care of either way.
00
Great news everyone. A government programme that is ahead of schedule: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-03/nsw-environment-minister-wild-horse-numbers/104498518
10
7 bras: https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-news/baffled-south-west-farmer-spots-9987928
A booby trap?
10
“Titivating gates”?
10
I wouldn’t touch them. May be booby traps.
30
The puppies are free.
20
Build Back Better before the cyclone hits: https://old.bitchute.com/video/7c37natPOeV3/
10
https://x.com/PeteHegseth/status/1896284324615602222 Those were the days my friend…
10
https://en.topcor.ru/57238-bastrykin-u-sk-est-dannye-o-33-tys-naemnikah-iz-70-stran-vojujuschih-na-storone-vsu.html
More than the permanent Australian Army
00