lundi 29 février 2016

Who Really Did 9/11? The Knights of Malta 9/11 Coup d'état

Hello, I am Peter Valentino, and I want to talk to you about the Knights of Malta and their 9/11 Coup d'état. In order to catch a criminal you must first familiarize yourself with the nature of the crime. Let’s get some practical facts out of the way.

The hardware required for the 9/11 New York City hit:

1. Explosives in the North Tower

2. Explosives in the South Tower

3. Explosives in Building 7

4. Nuclear demolition devices under the Twin Towers and under Building 7 placed there during their construction.

That’s it. No planes were used for the hit on the Towers. Planes were shot down on 9/11, but that’s another story.

See how simple and elegant the hit is? It’s very well thought out. The buildings are a loaded war trigger, just waiting to be pulled. Further, in the situation of 9/11, we have to look at what the Knights of Malta wanted to get accomplished. Since every hit is essentially an operation or a mission, we can assign a mission statement to 9/11.

The Knights of Malta 9/11 Mission

"To demolish the Twin Towers with people inside them,

in order to start a war and to take over control of the U. S. Government."

Once we see the simplicity of the hit and of what they wanted to get accomplished it's easier to spot the criminals in the maze of deception.

Based on the mission statement, the jobs fall into five important categories that I can see.

1. The demolition of the buildings.

2. Making sure there were people in them.

3. Spinning the demolition of the Towers in the media in order to sway public opinion towards war.

4. The carrying out of that war.

5. Taking over of control of the U. S. Government.

These are 5 things that the Knights of Malta were able to successfully complete. For the purposes of this brief piece, I am going to focus on the first three, because they specifically deal with New York, and 9/11 is a product of New York.

1. The Demolition of the Buildings

Our story begins with the Rockefellers, as do many tales of American treason. We must first understand that the World Trade Center was built by Knights of Malta David and Nelson Rockefeller in the late 1960’s. According to Dimitri Khalesov, the Rockefellers built the Towers with nuclear devices installed beneath the buildings as a demolition scheme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lec9giab90I Dimitri Khalesov full documentary

Here is a simple proof of the truth Mr. Khalesov’s statements: In a famous PBS interview, Larry Silverstein took credit for ordering the controlled demolition of WTC-7. He stated publicly that he had ordered the building to be “pulled.” This makes it clear that there was a demolition system already in the building and that the building’s owner knew of its existence. The existence of the system doesn’t have to be proven further, since it is obvious to any person that it was a controlled demolition of some kind and, in addition, it was admitted to by the building’s owner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p34XrI2Fm6I Larry Silverstein pull it

Further, we can ask, “Was Mr. Silverstein’s a complicated demolition system that had to be wired over a long period of time as is every other demolition system we have ever witnessed?” No, it wasn’t. Building 7 came down at 5:20 PM on 9/11. There wasn’t time.

OK, so that means that the nature of the demolition system of WTC-7 was different from a common setup traditionally used for the job. It was an alternative demolition scheme since it provably doesn’t conform to the principle criteria of the traditional scheme. 1. It doesn’t have to be wired arduously for weeks, and 2. The building comes down faster that the traditional type, with no beams standing and it comes down more uniformly with the rubble turning largely into dust.

This means that there are now at least two types of demolition schemes in existence: the traditional kind (A) and the kind that Larry Silverstein ordered to be used on 9/11 (B). Because of Larry Silverstein’s cavalier attitude towards the demolition, we can tell that his variety is really no muss, no fuss—very modern indeed.

Now, the Towers were subject to a demolition scheme, as well. That is equally obvious to any observer. Being that we now know of the existence of at least two demolition schemes in the world at that time, we should compare the Towers’ demolition to the two types we know to be in existence. We can see that the Tower’s collapse more closely resembles the Silverstein (B) type than the traditional (A) type.

(The differences stem from the fact that the two Towers had suffered explosions towards the top and Building 7 had not. The top part of each Tower remained virtually intact for most of its fall, pushing down and spreading the rubble created by the nuclear munition in the basement.)

Close examination of the WTC-7 collapse reveals that it is a perfect instance of a (B) type demolition. It is wholly different from the traditional manner of building collapse through demolition. The physical evidence conforms to the Khalesov’s testimony. This proves that Dimitri Khalesov’s nuclear scheme is the one used, unless someone puts forth yet a third possible manner of demolition—one that doesn’t require pre-wiring and that fits all the visual and physical criteria. I have not yet seen any such plan that works within the laws of physics, inclusive of thermite and mini-nukes. Thermite is the icing, not the cake. If you take a little time to think about it, and you listen to Dimitri Khalesov, you will see that he is 100% correct about the nuclear devices which Knights of Malta David and Nelson Rockefeller placed under their Towers and, by logical inference, additionally under Building 7.

On 9/11, Knight of Malta David Rockefeller possessed the means to demolish the buildings he had constructed, just as Larry Silverstein possessed the means to demolish his.

2. Making sure there were people in the Towers

The story of how the Knights of Malta were able to have people in the buildings for their demolition on 9/11, begins well before that day when Knight of Malta Rudy Giuliani decided to make sure that the New York City Fire Department had defective radios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaCYEEO-58I Rudy Giuliani, Urban Legend

Rudy Giuliani also ensured that there would be no Office of Emergency Management, or OEM, on 9/11 by choosing to place his tactical response unit in the exact place which was demolished. This aided Giuliani’s cause by severely reducing communication amongst emergency workers.

On 9/11, Giuliani never even visited his OEM. Building 7 was mostly evacuated by 9:00 AM, even before the South Tower explosion. This then put him out on the street, which was a totally theatrical move and had no bearing on actual leadership. All of Rudy Giuliani’s actions on 9/11 were to justify what happened to the firefighters and police by making it seem that he, too, was a victim of the attacks. He is stating that, “I am one of you.” He was unable to fool the firemen who survived, however, with this charade. The firemen were the perfect and intended victims of the hit. We went to war largely to avenge their deaths.

Even though as a city leader he was totally ineffective on 9/11, as a Knight of Malta, Rudy Giuliani was very successful. This is why he was Knighted by fellow Knight of Malta Queen Elizabeth for doing his duties to the Pope so well.

It is interesting that Knight of Malta Rudy Giuliani was aided in making the choice of the location for his OEM by his friend Larry Silverstein, who gave generously to Giuliani’s election. Larry Silverstein leased a space to New York City for the Office of Emergency Management that he knew he had the means to destroy with his demolition system.

3. Spinning the demolition of the Towers in the media in order to sway public opinion towards war

Knight of Malta L. Paul Bremer went on NBC on 9/11 at 12:46 PM, just over two hours after the North Tower fell. He was not in the U. S. Government at the time, but Bremer mentions the government job that he held two and a half years earlier, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. As a Knight of Malta, Bremer’s job is to set up the American mind for war. Bremer essentially declares war on Islam and pushes the idea of “state sponsored terrorism.” He mentions Al Qaeda, Iran and Iraq as possible targets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2pW6WZhZrQ L. Paul Bremer on NBC, 9/11

At the time of the interview, his offices in each of the Twin Towers had just been demolished but he makes no mention of this fact, nor does he have any of the emotional signs associated with grief or loss. Additionally, the plane-shaped explosions in the North Tower went off in the offices of Marsh and McLennan, where Bremer worked.

Knight of Malta L. Paul Bremer was a long-time assistant of Knight of Malta Henry Kissinger, and had been managing director of Kissinger Associates. Bremer sticks his neck out more than any of the other of the Knights of Malta because he is the lead man on the sales end and his lie is quite obvious. L. Paul Bremer was given the governorship of the conquered country of Iraq as a prize for his actions on 9/11.

Later, at 1:58 PM on 9/11, Knight of Malta Henry Kissinger went on CNN and also stated what we should do about the “attacks.” He too was not in the government at the time, yet he reiterated Bremer’s idea that this was “state sponsored terrorism” and that it meant war. You have to realize that here you are listening to somebody who has worked for Knight of Malta David Rockefeller, the builder of the Towers, ostensibly since 1959. This alone is highly suspicious behavior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r3H3yf3UIE

Knights of Malta Bremer and Kissinger both really seem to know a lot about the cause of the hit. Their basic keywords are “state sponsored terrorism,” and this becomes the mantra for the “War on Terror.”

It's also interesting to note that the Knights of Malta organization we call the CIA is known to have created Al Qaeda. Kissinger is himself a CIA man, so he knows this. Additionally, Rockefeller’s stooge Zbigniew Brzezinski, is a big part of creating this “database” of terrorists initially to fight against Russia in Afghanistan. Brzezinski will openly take credit for this. So if Rockefeller man Zbigniew Brzezinski created the Al Qaeda terrorist system, do you think it's possible that Rockefeller man Henry Kissinger doesn't know about it? So when Knight of Malta Henry Kissinger goes on CNN talking about what to do about Knight of Malta David Rockefeller's buildings, he is in full knowledge of the terrorist cells which were created by his cronies as scapegoats for the events of 9/11.

An Additional Player

Another very valuable Knight of Malta who did a lot to make the whole event work, is Michael Chertoff. He aided with the coverup from inside the Justice Department and did so much to clamp down on the rights of Americans. As Secretary of the newly formed Homeland Security Department, Knight of Malta Michael Chertof continued his work to remove much of the Bill of Rights and due process.

These are the main Knights of Malta I charge with 9/11:

1. Knight of Malta David Rockefeller

2. Knight of Malta Henry Kissinger

3. Knight of Malta L. Paul Bremer

4. Knight of Malta Rudy Giuliani,

5. Knight of Malta Michael Chertoff,

6. Knight of Malta George H. W. Bush and…

7. Knight of Malta George W. Bush

These are the primary men who did 9/11, and they are all still alive. If you look into it, you'll see that everything I have said is true. This is simply history. I want to make the Knights of Malta famous for their accomplishments on 9/11. I want the Knights of Malta to be a household word, so that the American people know who rules them. The Knights of Malta are the militia of the Pope. The U. S. is now a vassal state to the Vatican Nation.

Let’s you and I do something about that.



Thank you,

Peter Valentino.

Producer of PAPAMUNDI and the 9/11 Mechanism, now at Amazon http://amzn.to/1KfdTEU

see the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA_qU7xt-YM

The Knights of Malta 9/11 Coup d'état: An Impolite Truth, on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t1kGh02mOg


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Study claims that parents with 4 or more kids are happier.

http://ift.tt/1UvmTIv
Quote:

According to The Daily Signal, a study conducted by Australia’s Edith Cowan University found parents had the most life satisfaction with larger families.

ADVERTISING


“[The parents] usually say they always wanted a large family, it was planned that way, and it was a lifestyle they’d chosen,” study author Dr. Bronwyn Harman said, according to The Daily Signal.

Harman spent five years interviewing hundreds of parents from different family makeups and based her findings on resilience, social support, self-esteem and life satisfaction.

“What is important for kids are things like consistency, boundaries and [to] know that they are loved, no matter what,” Harman explained, The Daily Signal reports.

Harman initially believed parents with more children would be less happy, but her research concluded that the joy parents get from their children balances out the chaotic family nature than that of a smaller family.

The study also revealed that children of larger families are more independent at a younger age and always have friends.
Considering all the other studies....do you think there were confounding factors?


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New study: Gun control laws reduce gun deaths

A huge international study of gun control finds strong evidence that it actually works

Quote:

A just-released study, published in the February issue of Epidemiological Reviews, seeks to resolve this problem. It systematically reviewed the evidence from around the world on gun laws and gun violence, looking to see if the best studies come to similar conclusions. It is the first such study to look at the international research in this way.

The authors are careful to note that their findings do not conclusively prove that gun restrictions reduce gun deaths. However, they did find a compelling trend whereby new restrictions on gun purchasing and ownership tended to be followed by a decline in gun deaths.
Quote:

About 130 studies, from 10 different countries, converged on the idea gun deaths declined after laws restricting access to firearms went into force.
The complete study is available for free. It makes good reading.


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I Believe the People will Love Trump...

Like a Roman Tiberius, or a Julius, Trump is doing an end-run about the wealthy people who own this country and appealing to the mob. Trump even says Rich people don't like him:

http://ift.tt/1RgKLu0

I am not surprised. Because Trump is so vindictive that he's going to destroy a lot of Rich People if he gets the chance to get even...and they know it. And the Mob will cheer as they are destroyed - they will love him for it. My Gawd, we haven't seem anything like this since the 1800's when Europe's Royalty were slugging it out for supremacy.

We live in interesting times.


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Sir George Galloway runs for mayor of London

To get it out of the way: Yes, Empress I, not that old German hag on the island gave him that title which is legit all over my Empire which spans several dimensions and some square meters of this one.

So he is running for mayor as I've just heard on counterpunch radio to my astonishment, and seems to be in the top three with three months to go (or the other way around).

This epic struggle needs a thread, of course, but not the usual hatefest by our resident ... uhm ... suspects. But it will come and won't hurt and will be appreciated as the "skeptical" folklore that it is.

Go for it.


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Digital IDs / Certificates (Email)

[Windows10]

I know most people never heard of or used them but I'm a fan.

Excluding Office365, (which I'm guessing doesn't play along anyway), does anyone know of a decent email client that can handle them properly?

The little Win10 client is okay for receiving signed, (and encrypted), but has no sending options for security.

The old WindowsLiveEmail can do both nicely but handles email in a quirky olde worlde fashioned way.
I suspect my old Outlook Pro would be the same.

Thunderbird doesn't play at all.

Long shot, I know.


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Different than the usual suspicious email

Different than the scam email I usually see because the sender's address looks like a yahoo address :


Quote:

subject: for the family

sender : "annettelouise18@yahoo.com" <annettelouise18@yahoo.com>

the message, ( I have underlined the click bait ):


Quote:

Unable to display full message.
You can view it by clicking here

Yahoo error code: 14869 (Mon Feb 29 15:06:32 ART 2016)

Thats all there is to it.

I wont be clicking on it.

Can crooks scam a yahoo address like that?

Thanks in advance.


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Project questions

For one of my classes we have to do a full corporate setup. Meaning we have to create a server (complete with OS) and a small network. Really small, like....router-on-a-stick small. It can be one end device, the server, and a router if need be.

I've been looking around at email backends and interfaces. With how many there are out there I was curious if anyone had some suggestions for software. We're using Windows Server 2012, but it's a trial\student version so I'm fairly sure the exchange backend doesn't work . I've heard hMailServer with Squirrelmail is an easy one to setup. Anyway, just seeing what ideas people have since my teacher said, "Use all of your resources to find quality configurations for everything."


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Republican Convention

I didn't see a thread on this so I thought I would start one. It does look like Trump is likely to win the votes for the nomination. However, is it probable (or possible) for delegates at the convention bolt for someone else?

I have seen news stories speculating that Mitt Romney would throw his hat in the ring for a brokered convention.

Karl Rove is already calling the potential for Trump candidacy a disaster. I'm just wondering if the leadership in the party would try and go against the primary voting to avoid a Trump candidate.


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Poll: How long does a love relationship remain worth it?

As average, how long time does a love romance survive as happier and objectively more interesting than... the greener grass on the other side of fence?

In other words, how often should one (as average, though varying case by case) change one's partner, in order to live a maximally happy lifetime?


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What happens if Hillary is indicted?

Not interested in discussing if it's likely, unlikely, deserved, undeserved etc. or how evil Hillary is or isn't - there's plenty of that in the other thread.

Just wondering if she were to get the nomination and then be indicted what would happen?

As the runner up does Bernie just step in?
Does some committee pick someone else?
Does she continue on until a verdict?
Special election?
Something else?
Is there a precedent?


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dimanche 28 février 2016

Man jailed for attempting to murder a corpse.

Quote:

A man has been jailed for eight years for attempting to murder a corpse.
Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan​ on Monday said there was "an air of unreality" about the unusual case and no one would ever really know what happened on the night Daniel Darrington shot Rocky Matskassy​ three times in the head at point blank range.
Darrington, 39, was found guilty by a jury in October last year of attempting to murder Mr Matskassy, 31, after he was already likely to have been dead.

Justice Coghlan said the jury's verdict indicated they could not be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Darrington deliberately caused Mr Matskassy's death, but that he had intended to kill him when believing he was still alive.

Read more: http://ift.tt/1LpoUUw
Follow us: @theage on Twitter | theageAustralia on Facebook
Only in America Australia.

I bet no one thought of this in Lawrunorder.


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Make Donald DRUMPF again!!!

Tonight on John Oliver's HBO Show he announced a new campaign based on the Trump family's real family name -which was changed for some odd reason a few generations back. The campaign is simple it's goal is to let people know what it is and push Trump to use the real family name or explain why he won't.

The real family name was Drumpf, the campaign is through the show (look up John Oliver HBO and you should get to the info.

I'll be back with an update but did not want to hold back on this great idea!!!!:):D:):D:thumbsup:


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The All-Purpose Super Tuesday Thread - May Include Nuts

Is it time we said good-bye to some old friends?

Kasich? He needs to do well (not win) in the swing states, midwest and northeast. If he doesn't pull about double his recent results in MA, MN, VA then his campaign (for Vice President) is over.

Carson? He's selling books and souvenirs. He'll stay in as long as he thinks he's getting a return on his investment.

Sanders? With more than 500 delegates at stake in all states, he needs to be within four or five points of Hillary in just about all of them, because this is a proportional race. If Hillary does a South Carolina on him in Georgia, Texas and Virginia he's done. She won't lose to him anywhere other than VT by more than 10 points, so even in the states she might lose* she'll still get 35 to 45% of his delegate count.

*VT, MN, CO, MA are the ones the wags are saying will go to Bernie. But they also say OK? Unless all Dem voters in OK are under 30, I just can't see that ultra conservative state going to Bernie.


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So are high capacity stand alone MP3 players dead?

Does anyone make dedicated high capacity MP3 players anymore or has the smart phone market with cloud storage and services like Spotify and stuff pretty much killed them?

Right now I'm using a crappy old Android phone with a 64 gig micro SD card, Rocket Player, Audible, and Podcast Addict as my primary music player. It's certainly functional enough but it's twitchy. I've got the last generation iPod Classic but it bricked itself at some point and I've never got around to fixing it.

I sorta miss the old days of the high capacity hard disk based iPods and Creative Zens and hell even the Zune. MP3 players period are practically a dead concept and the few that are still being produced seem to be micro SD based. The only real movement in the industry is a couple of very high end "audiophile" players but tend to run monstrously expensive.

Right now a 2tb 2.5 inch hard runs under a hundred bucks. All most of the old hard drive based music players were was a laptop hard drive with a battery and a media player front end in a case. There's no reason a massive capacity music player shouldn't be a viable product in the under 200-250 dollar range.

Maybe I can finagle something together with a Raspberry Pi, one of those hard drives, and one of those power pack external battery packs.


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Another Unjustified Shooting Of A Police Officer? Absolutely.

http://ift.tt/1piM3ON

Quote:

Ronald Williams Hamilton, 32, is being held without bond in the Prince William County Adult Detention Center on charges that include murder of a law enforcement officer. He is accused of shooting and killing Officer Ashley Guindon after she answered a domestic violence call at the Hamilton home Saturday evening. Two other officers were hospitalized with injuries.

.....

Crystal Hamilton, 29, was fatally shot by her husband before police arrived, Hudson said. The officers were shot shortly after their arrival, and when additional officers arrived, Hamilton surrendered and came out the front door of the house.
Huh, and he was only taken into custody? He made it out alive even though he's black? I thought only white suspects made it out alive in these situations?

Yes, I posted this thread in response to another similarly worded thread entitled, "Another Unjustified Police Shooting? Maybe." We don't know if it was unjustified or not, so let's start a thread just in case and assume that it probably is.

Well this case was absolutely murder of a police officer. "Another Unjustified Shooting Of A Cop? Yep, Sure Was."

Quote:

The shooting occurred in the Lake Ridge neighborhood, on a curving street with $500,000 [that's $1.5M in Cali] suburban houses with brick and siding exteriors, manicured lawns and two-car garages about a five-minute drive from the county office building.
Not exactly an area riddled with poverty.

Cop Shot Feb 14, 2016
http://ift.tt/21tHLVZ

Quote:

A man believed to have shot a northwest Mississippi police officer point-blank in the face and a man believed to have joined him in an earlier robbery were being questioned Sunday by police, Clarksdale Mayor Bill Luckett said.

Couch [the cop] is on a ventilator, has lost one eye, and the bullet remains lodged in his brain, Luckett said.

"I'm not sure if Officer Crouch saw him run or not," Luckett said. "Then you see the officer's lights turn and illuminate the second guy, who's walking. He walks with a noticeable limp, which is telling" because a video of a robbery last month at the same store, the Corner Grocery, shows a man with a limp.
Quote:


"I've seen the video. It's harrowing," he said. "As soon as the officer approached him, he just swung around and, bam!"
Just a random shooting, no biggie.


Quote:

Couch and both suspects are African-American, he said.
You mean "children", right?

Where are the threads?

Off duty cop shot dead, this month.
http://ift.tt/21tHLW1

2 More shot cops this month
http://ift.tt/21tHLW3

Quote:

The two officers, one male and one female, were on a patrol in a housing complex in the South Bronx when they and another officer encountered two men in a stairwell, First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker told reporters.

One of the men in the stairwell fired at the officers and fled to an apartment of an acquaintance.

Here's an old one (no, not this month) where a cop tries to do the right thing.

Cop Shot Dead - Gives Suspect Every Chance He Could Have, And Dies For It
*GRAPHIC VIDEO* (mainly audio)
http://ift.tt/21tHNNy

Oh well, that's what you get for trying to be nice.

But hey, hold the phone - a black "child" was shot today by a cop and we don't know if it was a good shooting or not so let's get the popcorn, assume for now that it was bad, get the outrage all warmed up, and hate on some cops!


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Should I vote for Bernie or Hillery?

I was going to do my first caucus vote for Bernie, especially since he got the endorsement from Congressman Keith Ellison. But, now I got a some campaign mail from Hillery showing me the caucus date for my state and where to go. I feel conflicted. Any way I can vote for both of them. I feel obligated to go now to to show my support democracy. (Also, I'll keep my vote a secret until after the caucus.)


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Another unjustified police shooting? Maybe.

Didn't see a thread about this yet:

http://ift.tt/1VLWKUk

According to police they tried to break up a fight, but Mohamed tried to attack an officer with a broomstick so they shot him in defense.


A witness and friend of the teen says cops tried to break up the brawl — with guns drawn, told Mohamed "drop it" one time then they shot him.

So far the details are still sketchy. Police have their version while some witnesses claim differently. This will probably turn into a outrage/hate-fest before all the facts and evidence comes to light.


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Disney abuses visas

http://ift.tt/1UsEXD7
If it's not whites abusing affirmative action(http://nilevalleypeoples.blogspot.co...but_is/col2995) it's the opposite: http://ift.tt/1UsEXD9
H-b2 visas need to be retired.


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The Unemployable

In every society, there is around 5% of people whom I consider unemployable.

Some suffer from mental illness, some addiction, while others are just lazy and/or useless. Unfortunately, I have to deal with a few of these types, and on both sides of the equation - when they apply for jobs, and again when they're fired for being unemployable.

Many people manage to control their mental illness sufficiently to be able to work, but there are also many who can or do not.

Some people seem to just be allergic to work. They get a job and last two or three days before it all gets too hard, or they prove how completely worthless they are and get fired.

What do we do with these people?

Right now, we try to force them to work, by cutting their benefits if they don't apply for an take on a job.

While that may work for some, for the unemployable, it just creates problems for everyone else. Employers waste time trying to get them working, only to fail because they don't have it in them. The enormous expenditure by government, statutory and voluntary agencies on these people is being wasted.

To me, it seems the logical answer would be to simply offer these people a guaranteed lifetime benefit. If they don't want to work, they collect unemployment forever.

I don't believe this would increase unemployment, as most people want to work and improve their lives, and the dole would be set lower than the minimum wage.

The time and money savings achieved by removing huge numbers of administrative and counselling staff would easily give the plan a net financial benefit to the government instituting the idea.

Why do we focus so much on making people work when they just don't want to?


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Huntington Women Charged With Fabricating UAlbany Hate Crime: Police

An interesting case mostly for how the members of the 'Outrage Culture' responded to the initial claims.

Quote:

ALBANY, NY- Two Walt Whitman High School graduates are among the three black University at Albany students who falsely claimed to be victims of a hate crime and are now facing the consequences, the school announced Thursday.
http://ift.tt/1RxygNh

Related to this is something from the blog of author Caitlin R. Keirnan:

Quote:

As a lifelong liberal, I never imagined I'd see the emergence of something that can very accurately be called "liberal intolerance" doing so much damage on college campuses. When I was in college (1983-1991), we fought conservatives and religious fundamentalists for unrestricted free speech and access to all art and literature, not just that which we agreed with and didn't find offensive or disturbing.
http://ift.tt/1Usqh6V

Now that is something I can agree with... The nightmare of John Brunners "The Jagged Orbit" is getting closer and closer every day...


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Kuwait Celebrates 25th Liberation Day

It hasn't been reported on much in the West, but a friend of mine is currently vacationing in Kuwait and he said they have a huge celebration going on, honoring the 25th anniversary of their liberation following an invasion by Iraq. It was a U.S.-led military force that quickly mobilized and came to their rescue.
Quote:

After intense diplomatic lobbying from the government in exile, international pressure was brought to bear against Saddam Hussein. Thus, the largest military coalition of allied nations in modern history was formed and military personnel from 34 countries, led by the US, counter-invaded. Saddam’s army was forced out of Kuwait on February 28th 1991, and rightful government was restored. news link
Kuwaitis quickly restored their institutions and never looked back except to celebrate and say thank you to the nations who came to their aid.
Quote:

The government quickly resurrected its parliament and government institutions and did not suspend democracy despite the emergency situation facing the country. Together with the private sector, ministries and state agencies, Kuwaitis began the difficult, expensive and time consuming task of rebuilding the country. 25 years on, Kuwait is the epitome of peace and prosperity.
This is a great success story not only for Kuwait, but for the Western nations who came to their aid. It is a great victory for democracy over totalitarianism. And it all took place in a region where Western foreign policy has had few success stories. Yet in the West the Kuwaiti Liberation Day goes largely unnoticed. :confused:

What's the matter with us?


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Going back to Win 7

Update last night, now no internet.

"One or more network protocols are missing on this computer."

Restore didn't help. We'll see if going back to Win 7 fixes it.


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samedi 27 février 2016

Gods from outer space: science fiction as theology

Transcendent Outsiders, Alien Gods , and Aspiring Humans: Literary Fantasy and Science Fiction as Contemporary Theological Speculation Ryan Calvey concedes some incompleteness, but this is what he talks about.

In his introduction, he proposes liberal-religion and New-Age "sane spirituality" as an alternative to both religious conservatism and atheism. He continues onward to ET's as authoritarian gods, and then New-Age gods. He ends with "voices from below: aspiring humans", mentioning robots, supercomputers, magically-animated toys and statues, holograms and other AI simulations, projections of others' minds, assembled and cloned human beings, and also ET's.

Here is a more complete classification.

Angry -- authoritarian and judgmental and punitive. The Day The Earth Stood Still is a classic of that, with the ET's bringing a message of "behave yourself -- or else!!!"

Friendly -- like liberal and New-Age theology. Carl Sagan's Contact, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Starman, Cocoon. From Contact:
Quote:

... the alien “Caretaker” she encounters provides her with a different, more sophisticated model for God. Contrary to her expectations of traditional religion/theology (judgment, intervention, commandments, etc), her encounter, while in surface ways similar to most human/transcendent outsider interactions, is far more in line with progressive and New Age spirituality than those we have discussed earlier.

...
‘It isn’t like that,’ he said. ‘It isn’t like the sixth grade.’ […] ‘Don’t think of us as some interstellar sheriff gunning down outlaw civilizations. Think of us more as the Office of the Galactic Census. We collect information. I know you think nobody has anything to learn from you because you’re technologically so backward. But there are other merits to a civilization’

...
The emphasis in Ellie’s interaction with the Caretaker is growth, expansion, and development—humans have reached a point where they are on their own.
CEIII is rather disjointed. The ET's are first very annoying, then very friendly. Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End fits, after a fashion, and also the Brobdingnagians and the Houyhnhnms of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Some additional theology is the sort-of virgin birth in Starman and the miraculous healings of Starman and Cocoon.

RC also mentions UFO contactee Orfeo Angelucci in this context, and George Adamski has some good examples. "Space Brother" Orthon from Flying Saucers Have Landed, about nuclear bombs and the devastation that they can produce:
Quote:

To this, too, he nodded his head in the affirmative, but on his face there was no trace of resentment or judgment. His expression was one of understanding, and great compassion; as one would have toward a much loved child who had erred through ignorance and lack of understanding. This feeling appeared to remain with him during the rest of my questions on this subject.
"Space Sister" Kalna from Inside the Spaceships about war and things like that:
Quote:

It is a great pity that we must talk of such sorrowful things—and still sadder that such woe exists anywhere in the Universe. In ourselves, we of other planets are not sad people. We are very gay. We laugh a great deal.
Aloof -- though such deities involve themselves with humanity, they don't communicate with us very much, if at all. The black slabs of 2001: A Space Odyssey are an obvious example, and H.P. Lovecraft's "Elder Gods" may also qualify.

In UFOlogy, UFO surveillance (the usual reason proposed for their presence) and UFO abductions (like what wildlife biologists do) clearly qualify.

Apotheosis -- humanity becoming gods. Isaac Asimov's The Last Question is an obvious one, and some of Arthur C. Clarke's works seem like that also.

Absent -- if not nonexistent. Humanity is at the top of the heap in sentience, with all entities more powerful than humanity behaving completely impersonally without regard for humanity. Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy is a good example of it, with its absence of sentient ET's.

So far, the real-life universe has been like this, Fermi Paradox and all.


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Are websites responsible for reporting illegal activity?

So I wrote an article on PornMD's search stream and while I was writing it I came up with an interesting question.

Say, for example, someone searches for pedophilia or CP on one of those search engines. Obviously, the host is responsible for not having the content on their servers, but are they responsible for reporting the person who's searching for it? If they aren't legally, are they morally obligated? Where does the line between a possible offender and an average user exist?


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Astrology proven valid changed what?

If Astrology were proven to be valid, would your world view change?

If so, how?

This one maybe gonna be a hoot, in addition to the inevitable serious answers.

Both of them.


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Can I ask a physics question?

If this isn't the right sub forum, please scold me and I will ask it in the proper venue. I have a question that is 9/11 related, but it is not a conspiracy question, pure math.

I am trying to calculate the change in velocity of the upper mass of the WTC 1 after the first impact. My givens are a velocity of 7.7 m/s. The upper mass is 92 million lb.

The floors have a live load of 29 million lbs, but weigh themselves about 4.5 million lbs. So my question, using conservation of momentum equation, should m2 be 29M or 4.5M?

Thank you very much in advance for your help.


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Using emojii can result in criminal charges

When I was a teenager, my friends and I would sometimes make hand grenade throwing gestures when we passed our old high school. It never occurred to us that the police might be paranoid enough to view that as a criminal act.

We live in different times today:
Quote:

A 12-year-old girl is facing criminal charges for using emoji🔫🔪. She’s not alone.

........................

The 12-year-old from Fairfax, Va., has been charged with threatening her school after police said she posted a message on Instagram in December laden with gun, bomb and knife emojis.
http://ift.tt/1TGuXVX


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Could Elephants live in America?

Could either African or Indian or both types of elephants live in the Americas? If so where?


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Stop Safe Schools tries to stop LGBT dance.

http://ift.tt/1Qkw4K2
Quote:

You can sponsor a young person to attend the Same Sex Formal. Every $40 donation will allow one young person to attend, who would otherwise not be able to afford it. All donations are completely tax-deductible too.
Wouldn't you know, not everyone thinks this is a good idea.

http://ift.tt/1Qkw2Su
Quote:

Unfortunately for the Stop Safe Schools Coalition, Minus 18 were crowdfunding tickets this year so teenagers who couldn’t afford the entry free could still attend.

In other words, the anti-gay group spent literally thousands of dollars ensuring the attendance of hundreds of adolescents to the formal.

Read more: http://ift.tt/1Qkw4K4
Oops.

Ranb


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Warren Buffett essentially calls the presidential candidates liars

Yes, that's as shocking as predicting that the Sun will come up. Unless you're the incumbent, you can't run on a "things are great!" platform.

Warren Buffett wades into presidential campaign in annual letter

Quote:

OMAHA, Neb. -- The United States' economy is in better shape than the presidential candidates make it seem, investor Warren Buffett said Saturday, even though businesses like his still face challenges.

In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett didn't name specific candidates or issues, but noted that the negative drumbeat about the economy, health care reform and income inequality may get voters down about the future.

"It's an election year, and candidates can't stop speaking about our country's problems (which, of course, only they can solve)," he said, adding later, "that view is dead wrong: The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history."

Buffett noted that there will still be economic troubles as business evolves, but that the country needs to make sure it has a solid safety net to help people who lose jobs.

"The answer in such disruptions is not the restraining or outlawing of actions that increase productivity. Americans would not be living nearly as well as we do if we had mandated that 11 million people should forever be employed in farming," he wrote.
Of course business will adapt; nobody makes buggy whips anymore. The question is, can workers adapt fast enough not to lose everything. Job training and small business loan programs are what's needed, not candidates lying about bring jobs back to the U.S. Those jobs are gone! Period! When The DonaldTM says he will bring jobs back to the U.S., he is full bore ****** lying! Of course, when isn't he?

Buffett is right that today's babies are the luckiest crop so far. There's a lot of opportunity around, you just have to find it and adapt to it. Today's babies have a chance to live far longer and more prosperously than any generation before, perhaps even one day become virtually immortal. Life for them will be what they make it.


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SCOTUS death watch

By the grace of Odin goes Ginsburg. I will forever curse Bill Clinton for appointing geezers. Whereas Thomas (Trump's favorite) was wearing diapers when appointed.

Liberals in blue.

Ginsburg 83
Kennedy 79
Breyer 77
Thomas 67
Alito 66
Roberts 61
Sotomayor 61
Kagan 56
<open> -


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Poll: can you choose your sexual attraction?

Beware of the Victorian Era moralism in our midst, if thou shalt not take heed how thou speaketh unto this thread, thou mayest condemn this thread to be thrown to the eternal fire of the Forum Community, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


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Europa probe: illegal NOT to include a lander

I was simultaneously surprised and amused to find out that NASA's current budget, which Congress approved last November, includes a significant increase in planetary science, a go-ahead and $175 million for Europa mission, and stipulates that Europa probe must include a lander:

http://ift.tt/1ODB3js

http://ift.tt/1ODB4UH

People often complain about congressional micro-managing of NASA, but this is the kind of micro-managing I could get behind. JPL has been studying a Europa mission for a while, but under assumption it would be an orbiter only -- a lander was considered too complicated, too risky, and most likely would follow after an orbiter had mapped best landing spots. In particular, there was a concern that as the orbiter makes repeated passes through Jupiter's radiation belts, the attached lander would accumulate far too much radiation damage before its mission even started.

But now that NASA has been ordered to include a lander, it did not take them long to come up with creative solutions. The plan is not to keep the lander attached to the orbiter. When the mission arrives at Jupiter, the lander would remain at a distant orbit, well outside radiation belts, while the main probe makes multiple flybys of Europa. Two years later the lander would activate, approach Europa, and land at whatever location is by then deemed most suitable. It would use two techniques originally developed for Mars -- the skycrane and the airbags, -- in order to not contaminate the landing site with rocket exhaust.

The most recent issue of "Astronomy" magazine has an interview with House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Culberson, who brags that "Europa lander is the only mission it is illegal for NASA not to fly."


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The Conspirators: new animated comedy short



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The FBI made a really bad anti-terrorism game for teenagers.

So I reported on the FBI's new anti-terrorism game for teenagers, and I was wondering what you all thought of it.

It's terribly made and a lot of the content seems extremely biased, particularly (oddly) the section on violent abortion protesters.


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Having trouble copying files off an external SSD.

The drive keeps appearing and disappearing on My Computer. When I do get it to show up I get "Not enough memory to complete the operation" while copying files to another drive.

Is there a free third party program that would help me with this? /dummy


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[Split Thread] Opto-electronics and Electro-Optics

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbob (Post 11146672)
I am not too sure about some of the optoelectronics fabs, but I can think of American, German and Dutch owned fabs as well as a Japanese wafer manufacturer.

ARM is also the poster child for fabless IP developers

ARM does an awesome job and I think their future is pretty bright.

As for optics....Opto-electronics and Electro-Optics were a lost cause for America and the west as far back as 1990. So, I don't think you'll see any of those types of Fabs owned locally unless they are strictly defense related.

Talking about Electro-Optics, I find Samsung's work with millimeter-thin OLED technology to be technically staggering from a fabrication standpoint. Ever since reading about luminescent walls in an Isaac Asimov Science Fiction Novel, I knew they were possible (and since I studied Electro-Optics I could even tell you how to design them), but I just didn't expect to see them in my lifetime because of the difficulty in manufacturing them. I believe if I live another 30 years, then they will be quite common: ubiquitous, in fact.

Likewise, a few years ago I was struck dumb by the ability of firms like Canon and Nikon to develop and manufacture high-density CCDs. When I told a friend who worked at Raytheon developing Missiles about the specs of these comercially-available CCDs, he didn't believe me. But I showed him and he was convinced. Point is this: the imaging CCDs in many cameras are more advanced than what you'll find in million-dollar missiles. And, as a result of this CCD tech being coupled with high-speed processors, a whole world of missile-related applications related to imaging instead of just thermal tracking has been made possible. In other words, the missile of the future will lockon to an image and not a heat signature, and unless a fighter pilot is equipped with a "Romulan Cloaking Device" he is as good as hammered the instant that missile acquires him (this missile will not be electronically/optically jammed or fooled with silly flares, chaff or decoys). Gawd...what a thought - and this type of imaging is going to be implemented in everything from SAM Systems to shoulder-fired missiles.


Mod InfoThread split from here.
Posted By:zooterkin


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vendredi 26 février 2016

Moral outrage = virtue signalling shaped by evolution. Science proves the obvious.

http://ift.tt/1n2TqrS

Quote:

The model involves “costly signaling,” the classic example of which is the peacock’s tail. Only healthy male peacocks with high-quality genes can manage to produce extravagant plumages, so these tails — precisely because of how “resource intensive” they are — function as honest advertisements to potential mates of a peacock’s genetic quality.

We argue that the same can be true of punishing others for wrongdoing, which can serve as a signal of trustworthiness. This is because punishing others is often costly — but less so for those people who find it worthwhile to be trustworthy. Consider: Trustworthiness pays off for you if others typically reciprocate your good deeds or reward you for good behavior. This includes being rewarded for promoting moral behavior via punishment.

Therefore, if you are a person who finds being trustworthy rewarding, you’ll typically also find punishing less costly. Our mathematical model shows that, as a result, choosing to punish wrongdoers can work like a peacock’s tail — if I see you punish misbehavior, I can infer that you are likely to be trustworthy.

...

Our theory also explains why people sometimes punish in ways that don’t make sense from the perspective of benefiting the greater good. For example, punishment can sometimes be wildly disproportionate to the perceived offense.
Most normal people are depressed by what has happened to the internet, twitter, the press and modern dinner conversation. I have a lot of hope for the future because I believe that eventually most people will learn this information and the reality of how evolution shaped our cognitive biases like confirmation bias and in-group/out-group bias, leading to more honest and self-aware behavior. Hope for my children... maybe.


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Do submarines tow white spheres ?

Do submarines tow spheres ?

Or it could be towed by a cohort surface vessel, but towline is not readily visible.

Neither is a towboat or a towboat's wake. Also a towline might have been deflected by the sailboat's keel and that seems not to be the case.

white UFO_ sphere or orb chases boat off coast of Sweden Sept 17_2011
1:55 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOJHyqhMMic


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Fishing Boat, Jets, Copter, UFOs, Splash

While videos are faked all the time.....

I'm no expert, but this one, with the chopper and the excited fishermen etc seems hard to fake.

Jets fly by. Discs fly by, then one splashes. Then chopper in pursuit pauses at fishing boat to bullhorn them. One might wonder if something was shot down by a jet. Is it fake? Seems kinda elaborate to fake.


Save time. Start at 2:20

UFO+USO Unbelievable Daylight Footage In The Sea

19.:34 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwX_OWkx8Og


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What do y'all know about DMSO?

Friends,

I really don't have the Academic background or the Patience to wade through the beaucoup Anecdotal evidence to find the genuine research.

I'm kinda at wits end here. My sister has severe Arthritis in both knees and both ankles badly enough that she's in total misery most of the time.

I know that it's people who are desperate who fall play to Charlatans but on the other hand I don't want to leave any turns unstoned.

Thanks.


…..RVM45 :cool::eek::cool:


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Donald does'nt like Freedom Of Speech...except for Donald.

http://ift.tt/1pdUMSf


I think Trump might be the greatest internal threat to basic American freedom we have seen in a long time.


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What do you do when your friends believe woo?

A friend recently asked me to look at some papers she had and give her my opinion. What followed was a trip down a rabbit hole of sovereign citizen claptrap that I had to decipher because my friend was about to spend a great deal of money on what they were offering.

This is the website: //actnowpma.info/PrivateMemberAssoc.html

In a nutshell, this guy has been marketing Private Membership Associations as a way for alternative health care practitioners to practice their trade without interference from licensing boards or the FDA.

He charges $6000 to draw up papers for a P.M.A. that he claims will, and I quote, be able to "Enjoy a general immunity to public laws, regulations and internal rules of local, state and federal administrative agencies (including, but not limited to, the FDA) that protect the public health."

So I give her my opinion, which is that the guy is a con artist.

Then she tells me that she isn't the only one, that others among our friends had already bought in.

So far I know of two friends who run alternative health businesses who paid this guy to draw up papers for them, and they are mad as hell with me right now because they love this guy and I say he's scamming them.

I don't feel like I can just sit idly by while some scammer rips off my friends. We've had clashes before, because my acceptance of and advocacy for vaccines and "western medicine" aka Science Based Medicine.

So how do I deal with friends who believe in woo without biting my tongue every time one of them mentions something I disagree with? These are people I like and respect. I value their friendship, but I don't want to sacrifice my ethics or commitment to the truth just to remain friends.


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Aircraft versus helicopters in combat

Not sure if this is a good fit for history - should it be in technology?

Could we have any Air Force geeks or those knowledgeable in aviation comment on this Wikipedia entry? It deal with a training test by the US Air Force to test the combat ability of helicopters versus fixed wing aircraft.

http://ift.tt/1io2lCI


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Some thougts about the applications of gravitational waves

When I heard the news about LIGOs discovery of gravitational waves, I didn't put to much thoughts into it. But I did recognize the importance, that this further proves that Einstein theories about the nature of cosmos still holds to this very day. That our technological infrastructure that depends on this intelligent man's ideas is very relevant and that we can safely rely on it.

It wasn't until days later that this came to mind: Recently the Planetary Society launched their solar sail. Even though photons have no mass, we can still use these particles for propulsion.
What about a gravitational sail? I know this sounds rather far fetched and I might be wrong about how gravitational waves actually works. And that they don't behave like the kind of "waves" we normally think about. But wouldn't it be rather cool to "surf" on these cosmic waves?

I'll tell you this. I'm no expert in physics, nor have I a degree in it. But hopefully some day I might be better at grasping the ideas of physics. I'm bad at math so that probably makes it worse, but still my quest for knowledge will lead me the way to a better understanding of these principles of nature. So if anyone can correct me on this issue please go ahead.

To be honest, I haven't read anything regarding the applications of this discovery anywhere, but if you have. Feel free to give any links about it. Thank you.


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Teaching factorization of quadratic expressions in 10 minutes

I'm working with high school students, who are not currently enrolled in a math class, as they work through lessons on math-teaching software. There is a round of "benchmark testing" coming up and the principal wants to see the numbers go up. Originally this was conceived of as a relatively painless was to keep students' math skills current but now this expectation has emerged that I will give a 10-minute "mini-lesson," then students will master several methods of factoring quadratic expressions in the remaining 80 minutes.

A lot of the work so far has been in areas students are familiar with. But none of these students (freshmen) have done much with nonlinear functions.

I can show them the trick to factoring as they may see it on the test, but I am supposed to cover at least 4 techniques, without any time for students to learn why quadratic function are useful or even what they actually are. I can show them on a graphing calculator that the factored version is the same as the non-factored, and I probably can take a minute to two (literally) to give them examples. I would also like them to learn the FOIL technique for checking their answers.

I have 2 questions - can I make substantive headway in the one 90-minute session I have with my groups before the benchmark test? And, what are the merits of an overview that basically shows them the tricks, with virtually no real-world idea of what these functions are or why they are useful?

OK, three questions: What is the best way to go about this?


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Republican obstructionism?

Just had a conversation with one of my conservative friends, and obstructionism came up. Democrats complain that from day one of Obama's presidency the Republican party decided to pretty much obstruct everything he tried to do.

Republicans on the other hand, claim that it is Obama who refuses to compromise and claims of Republican obstructionism are false.

Who is right?


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Just a Minute, Man!

In a move clearly designed to send a message to recalcitrant states like North Korea, USA has launched a Minuteman missile: http://ift.tt/1Lj7GIm

Following NK's lead, the missile appears to have been aimed at an ocean rather than a country, which is nice, but there is an obvious intent to frank America's dominion over the rest of the planet by reminding everyone that they have bigger and better weapons than you and can nuje you anytime, anywhere.

It's little wonder the entire country is full of guns in ever-increasing calibre - when your government bullies the rest of the world, it's easy to copy.

Anyway, my big question is:

Is the plural of Minuteman Minutemen or Minutemans?


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George RR Martin's latest bombshell

According to George RR Martin, Winds of Winter will contain a plot twist not available to the TV show because it involves a character who's dead in the show but not in the books. Who could this be? Martin says, “at this point there are like 15 characters who are dead on the show who are still alive on the books.” I can only think of four. Shireen Baratheon, who seems almost certain to die in the opening chapters of WoW just like she did in the book, Ser Barristan Selmy, Jojen Reed and Catelyn Stark (she's undead rather than alive, but she could fit the bill for GRRM's teaser). Who are the others?


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A common feminist behavior: no counterparts in other issues like race/orientation?

Responding to feminist accusations of how horrible "men" are by pointing out that you're a man and you don't fit their description is likely to get the response that you just said "#notallmen", which apparently is inherently bad (somehow). More generally, countering any feminist claim of any kind in any way is likely to get you accused of "#mansplaining". So the objection is not to the specific nature of any given opposing argument, but to the fact that it opposes a feminist's claims at all; opposing arguments are to be universally dismissed not for flaws in their contents, but just for the sin of even existing.

But I can't think of having seen anything equivalent to "#whitesplaining" or "#straightsplaining" or "#notallwhites" or "#notallstraights". Have you? Or is this approach unique to feminism?

The closest I can think of is "Privilege!", but that's not specific to any non-feminist issue; it's defined as broadly applicable to all of the above and more, but gets used more often for feminism than for the rest combined, leaving me still with no counterpart that's exclusively or even primarily used for something other than feminism.


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The consolidated mass shootings thread.

Quote:

Mass shooting refers to an incident involving multiple victims of gun violence.
Might as well have a thread to keep score.

First up: Hesston, Kansas.

At least 4 people were shot to death at a plant in Kansas, with many others injured, the police said

Quote:

NEWTON, Kan. — Three people were killed at a manufacturing plant in Hesston, Kan., on Thursday by a man who had driven through at least two towns shooting a gun out of his car window, the police said.

The gunman was killed in a gunfight with a police officer inside the factory, the authorities said.

T. Walton, the sheriff of Harvey County, told reporters that the shootings occurred around 5 p.m. at the factory and on the roads between Hesston and Newton, Kan., where the gunman lived. The factory is owned by Excel Industries, a company that makes riding mowers and other lawn care equipment.

Sheriff Walton said that four people, including the gunman, had been killed at the factory and that 14 others were injured, 10 of them critically. The gunman, who worked at the plant, shot three more people as he drove to the factory, including a man whose car he stole on the way there. He shot a woman in the parking lot at the factory before entering the building and opening fire.

All of the victims were shot with an assault rifle, the sheriff said, but a handgun was also found on the gunman after he was killed.
Continues...


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Trump is a FASCIST!

I have noticed that people are going mental on Facebook saying that Trump is a Fascist, or even the next Hitler. Of course many of them are also saying that those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it, but it seems to me that only those who don't remember history can think Trump is Hitler.

Now, I think he's a demagogue who makes crass comments about Mexicans and Muslims, but that he's not a fascist. In fact, I think that's ridiculous. If Trump devises a 25-point plan for a racially pure Amerikan Reich and forms a paramilitary organization who beat up political opponents then I will change my mind. But not until then.

What do you fine people think?

I shall start a poll to definitively decide this urgent matter.


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jeudi 25 février 2016

Shocking Sexism in Russia

The Russians are known to be a touch on the homophobic side, but I'd never realised just how bad the sexism was over there.

Exploitation of the most insidious kind, getting into young men's minds and offer them sex.

This kind of competition would be protested off the face of the earth in an enlightened country: http://ift.tt/1THCZzm

I feel so sorry for that young man. Imagine being forced to spend an entire month with a woman who looked like that and seems quite happy to give the boy his first "lesson".

Will he ever get over the trauma?

Or will it help his attraction enormously, having learnt from an expert.

This kind of activity must be stopped!

(I'm going to write to Putin to complain - shall we start a Change.org petition? They work!)


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"Zimbabwe Park to Cull 200 Lions, Cites Lack of Hunters"

Quote:

One of Zimbabwe’s largest wildlife reserves, the Bubye Valley Conservancy, recently announced that it was considering culling up to 200 lions as the cats have become increasingly overpopulated. The wildlife reserve said its current population of around 500 lions is unsustainable due to the dramatic decline in hunters, possibly caused by the controversy over Cecil, a lion killed near Hwange National Park last year. Bubye officials say that without hunters to help manage the lion population, they are considering either hiring marksmen to shoot some of the animals, or capturing them and donating the cats to other reserves. Bubye has historically held one of the largest lion populations in Zimbabwe.

“I wish we could give about 200 of our lions away to ease the overpopulation,” Blondie Leathem, the conservancy’s general manager, told the National Post. “If anyone knows of a suitable habitat for them where they will not land up in human conflict, or in wildlife areas where they will not be beaten up because of existing prides, please let us know and help us raise the money to move them.”

Leathem explained that the lions are a big threat to the park’s other denizens, which included antelope, giraffes, leopards, and a number of other native species. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the conservancy is trying to recover from one of the driest summers on record.

unters traditionally helped to keep lion numbers in check, as well as bringing a much needed financial boost to the park. However, officials are now blaming something they call the “Cecil effect” for the lack of hunters. In 2015, the hunting of a black-maned lion named Cecil by an American dentist, Walter Palmer, drew international outrage after the Zimbabwe government accused Palmer of poaching. The charges were later dropped, but activist groups continued to target big game hunters in Africa and urged many governments, including Zimbabwe, to close their borders to hunters. This is despite the fact that many conservationists have long agreed that hunters are needed to not only manage wildlife populations, but also provide the funds to protect the same species they hunt.

Game species are not the only wildlife that hunters benefit. According to the Bubye Valley Conservancy, it is funds from sportsmen and women that allowed it to create its rhino conservation project, which manages the third largest population of black rhinos in Africa.

“Today, the hunters’ legends live again in the Bubye Valley, where populations of animals have had the time and the space to grow to maturity,” Bubye stated on its website. “Thriving herds live in balance on the open savannah, the mopani woodlands and in the dense riverine forests. The diverse habitats found in the Bubye Valley Conservancy now support an astonishing 35 species of wild, free-ranging game animals including the classic Big Five.”

The conservancy spans roughly 850,000 acres.

http://ift.tt/1VIeekv

I am deeply suspicious of the claim that trophy hunting is needed to "control" the lion population. After all, how is hunting certain individuals (the biggest, most impressive male lions) supposed to control the whole population. It remains me of the claims made by hunters that their hunting of a selected few large antlered bucks is somehow "controlling" the deer population.


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Why income and wealth must be distributed better.

There was a time I was in favor of a balanced amendment and opposed stimulus programs and Unions. I considered myself conservative economically and a liberal on social issues. I'm now thoroughly convinced I have been wrong. The conservative mantra for economics is a failure. It works only for a very few and only in the short term for them.

What drives our economy is consumption not a balanced line in a ledger book. Hard to believe but we are not, not, not consuming enough. But I'm not talking about specific individuals, but the general we. We are not traveling enough, dining out enough, shopping enough.
The reason most of us are not contributing to the economy and the general welfare of our neighbors and society? We can't afford it. Our bank accounts are too small.

And the reason for that?

Simply said far too many people are either underpaid or under-employed. A large reason for why people are underpaid has been the diminishing power of unions, global economics and now the acceleration of automation.

I'm not a Luddite. Fighting technological progress is both a losing battle and in the end counter productive. What must be done, some way some how is to increase job growth and income for people who spend and will drive the economy.

The conservative mantra has always been to focus on production. Stimulate growth by encouraging investments through tax cuts. I've come to the conclusion this does not work. The reason? There is plenty of money for investment. But without more consumer spending, there are far too few opportunities to make those investments profitable.

I think that free markets work best and don't think any top down government control works very well. That said, I think the rules of our present economic system do not work very well for most of us. I'm convinced that we must modify it in some way that results in increased income for the working class and poor which I the end will be better for everyone. I have some ideas, but I really want to hear others. What do you think?


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And now to replace the CPU.

Suggestions solicited. I want to spend $3-400 US$ for a new CPU. The current one is going on six years old.

I currently have:

Attached Images
File Type: jpg Gateway stats..JPG (23.1 KB)


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Gaffes that would ruin Trump

This (Republican) blogger has some pretty funny (and mostly) true examples.

For example:

"The Confederate Flag is a symbol of racist oppression."

"What’s with all these gun nuts?"

"Guys who drive pickup trucks are losers, really sad."

A couple off mine off the top of my head:

"Islam is a religion of peace"

"Compared to George W. Bush, Barack Obama is a decent President"

"The Bible is a work of fiction"

Anyone else have others to add?


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Circumstantial Evidence

- This has probably been discussed before -- but if so, I don't know how to find it.
- I've been arguing in favor of the Shroud of Turin in this forum for four years... without getting anywhere. An underlying problem in the thread is our inability to agree upon what constitutes "evidence" -- in particular, "circumstantial evidence."
- So far, the definitions found don't seem to help very much...

- Here's my story, and I'm s-s-stickin to it!

1. An event can be consistent with both an hypothesis and its complement.
2. Being consistent with an hypothesis simply means that the event does not eliminate the hypothesis.
3. But such an event can still support one hypothesis over the other.
4. If one hypothesis is that the 'event' is a dog, and the other is that it's an elephant, having four legs doesn't support one hypothesis over the other.
5. But if one hypothesis is that the event is a dog, and the other hypothesis is that it isn't a dog, having four legs is supportive of the dog hypothesis over the non-dog hypothesis.

6. Our basic question here is how is such determined...
7. For instance fingerprints on the murder weapon is consistent with both guilt and innocence, but it's supportive of guilt.
8. Not that such fingerprints prove guilt, but, they can be added to the guilt side of the equation.
9. To determine that, we compare the likelihood of fingerprints given innocence to the likelihood of fingerprints given guilt.
10. Comparing those two, we get that the suspect's fingerprints on the murder weapon are more likely if the suspect is guilty than if he's innocent.
11. Consequently, fingerprints support guilt over innocence.

12. Also, they are circumstantial evidence all by themselves -- they don't need any more bits of evidence in order to be considered circumstantial evidence.

13. Also, direct evidence (e.g., witness testimony) can be false.

14. And finally, these principles apply to both science and law.
15. And four legs supports dog over non-dog.


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The argument of Government Handouts

Yesterday I got into a bit of a debate with my cousin about Bernie Sanders. He was telling me his opinion that Sanders, while good intentioned, has a very simplistic approach to how he wants to solve the problems of the country. He brought the issue of taxing the rich, and the issue of the "handouts". He mentioned, for example, that there is a lot of people, both in the US and in Europe, who take advantage of these benefits so that they don't have to work, and so, it's unfair that the taxes we pay, go to these people.

Now, I have heard other people comment on that, and I'm sure that the situation isn't as simple, and that yes, there may be a number of people who take advantage of these situations so that they don't have to work. However, I would like to know where can one find more information about this. Specifically, what is the ratio of people who take these handouts as a solution to not having to work? Because it seems to me that even if there is some percentage of that, that the alternative of allowing a great number of people who can't find a job or who have a job but don't earn enough to sustain their family, is unacceptable.


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CNN investigates Maria Duval psychic scam

Good afternoon. At the moment, this was CNN's top story.
Chapter One: Who is behind one of the biggest scams in history?

http://ift.tt/1p9kK9v

It's an interesting read.Nothing new though. What I find interesting is that there is no mention of any of the more famous alleged psychics that are essentially doing the same thing. No mention that the evidence shows that there are no psychic powers and that anyone claiming to be a psychic is either deluded or a.scam artist.


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Willie Wilson

I haven't heard of this guy until today:

http://ift.tt/1hsvagy

Apparently, he was on the South Carolina Democratic Ballot, but not on the Florida Democratic Ballot.

Anyone else have him on your ballot?


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Texas Republican Debate Thread

As CNN reminds us incessantly, the last before Super Tuesday.

Date: Today, Thursday 25 Feb.
Time: 8:30 PM EST, 5:30 for those of us on the Left Coast
Place: University of Houston’s Moores Opera Center
Broadcast: CNN broadcast, Telemundo
Live Stream: CNN.com
Panel: Wolf Blitzer will be the primary moderator. Hugh Hewitt, Dana Bash and Telemundo’s Maria Celeste Arraras will contribute questions.

http://ift.tt/1SXDuoX

I suppose I'll live blog as usual. Cruz needs to do well in his home state.


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Super Tuesday

I'll try to call Colorado right now.

(D) Sanders (He's had way more commercials on my tv than Clinton)
(R) Cruz (GOP is not allowing the public to vote in the caucus, cuz they don't want Trump)

(R) is hard to pick, but i think Rubio is on the outs.


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Harvard abolishes 'master' in titles

BBC News: Harvard abolishes 'master' in titles

"Harvard University in the US is going to remove the word "master" from academic titles, after protests from students who claimed the title had echoes of slavery.

House masters, in charge of residential halls at the university, will become known as "faculty deans".

Harvard Law School is also deciding whether to change its official seal, because of links to slavery.

US campuses have faced a series of protests over allegations of racism.

Harvard has not accepted that the use of "master" was a link to slavery, but it has responded to a campaign for a name change."

Oh dear....


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Spontaneous remission in Cancer?

Hello all,

Further to following discussions, I felt it better to discuss possible science of seprately in this topic and in this forum. I hope no one would mind it because important.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com...d.php?t=303869

Following quote tell something about Spontaneous remission:-

Quote:

Spontaneous remission

Definition[edit]The spontaneous regression and remission from cancer was defined by Everson and Cole in their 1966 book as "the partial or complete disappearance of a malignant tumour in the absence of all treatment, or in the presence of therapy which is considered inadequate to exert significant influence on neoplastic disease."[1]
http://ift.tt/1SIeYYN
Although I have a faint idea about possibilty of it but don't know science of this possibilty.

Whether this should be dependent on sudden patho-phsiological natural changes in body either due to progression of disease or due to severe treatments OR otherwise beyond scientific understandings?

Which sudden patho-physiological changes with severe outcome happen in body is first need to be understood.

Best wishes.:)


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mercredi 24 février 2016

Pet Food Woo

Because I shop on-line for some of my cat needs, I get a lot of click-ads for pet products.

Out of curiosity, I clicked on a store that called itself " Only Natural Pet " just to see what kind of nonsense they were peddling at ridiculous prices.

Surprisingly, their basic food products seemed well formulated and were reasonably priced, compared to a lot of so called premium foods..

I decided to take a closer look at some dry cat food they called ' Feline Power Food ', particulary the ' Fish & Fowl Dinner' ..

The main composition looked pretty good; 42% protein, 18% fat, & etc., but then I looked at the ingredients, that started out with:

Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Menhaden Fishmeal, ( ... and so on)


So I asked myself, " Why don't they call this stuff " Fowl & Fish Dinner " since fish is clearly not the main ingredient here..

Feeling snarky, I decided to send off a question to their support team..

I wrote:

Quote:

" I was linked to your site for cat food from my Facebook page; I guess because I had been shopping for pet products. While your Fish + Fowl Dinner looks like a pretty good product, I have to question why you promote and call it " Fish + Fowl " , when fish meal ( whatever that is.. ) is listed as the 3rd ingredient. It appears that you want make the product more appealing by suggesting there is more fish going on here than there actually is. Your products appear to be competitively priced, and worth consideration if it weren't for what I consider somewhat deceptive labeling and promotion. "
A couple of days later I received a reply:

Quote:

Hello, Greg.
Thank you for contacting Only Natural Pet.
I’m sorry that you feel the label is misleading, but the fish meal is the 3rd ingredient listed on the bag. Pet foods are graded are by their first five ingredients!
Please let me know if there is anything else that I can help you with. J
Regards,
Sara
Customer Care
Well Sara,why don't you call it " Pea Protein & Tapioca Starch Dinner ", since those are the 4th & 5th ingredients ?

I decided to dig a little deeper into their store, and my suspicion of Woo was totally confirmed..

Check out their Only Natural Pet Easy Defense Flea & Tick Tag

I won't paste the whole thing, but here are a couple of choice quotes:
Quote:

Using state of the art holistic technology, the EasyDefense Flea & Tick Tag utilizes your pet's own bio-energy to create a natural preventative to biting insects, including fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.
..and
Quote:

The EasyDefense Tag is treated with a powerful bio-energetic process and sealed in an electro-magnetic shielded envelope. Just place it on your pet's collar and it will use your pet's own inherent energy to send out pest repelling frequencies.
I wonder if someone's pet subsequently contracted heart-worms, or other mosquito or flea related illness, if they would have good grounds for litigation.


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What do you think are the most important social media and atheist related issues?

I'm running a blog for a college level class, and I'm curious as to what people believe are the most important issues in regards to the intersections of social media and atheism advocacy.

I've been a member of this forum since I was about fourteen (I cannot, for the life of me, remember my old username) and I figured if there was a place to ask, this would be it. I'm not sure if I have enough posts on this account to post links to my blog, but I can provide if asked - I already wrote an article on the importance of atheist charity.


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More college censorship

http://ift.tt/1VFrM07

So remember fear of armed students should stifle discussions in college classrooms.


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Tamiflu for children??

Usually I just make fun of medication commercials but this one got to me.
The commercial shows children sick with the flu ad explains that Tamiflu is an anti-viral that can help fight it.

Of course the side effects come nearer the end of the ad and explain that children and adolescents may experience seizures!

How in the name of Gawd can this be approved for children, outside of a hospital setting?


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