mercredi 31 janvier 2018

The platypus is not real

It's just a fake animal made up by evolutionists. It's a beaver with prosthetics.

This YouTube video totally blows this HOAX out of the water! WAKE UP SHEEPLE!!!

[YT]0Itz1TO-N4I[/YT]


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Amtrak train crash was a liberal plot

An Amtrak train collided with a garbage truck at a crossing in West Virginia this morning. The driver of the truck was killed instantly; some minor injuries were reported on the train. Three Republican congressman, destined for a GOP conference in West Virginia, were among the train passengers. They were not injured, and proceeded to the conference without incident. Write-up here.

Conservative social media has exploded with outrage as fringe conspiracy theorists and Russian bots actively promote a conspiracy theory that the accident was...a conspiracy, by Democrats, the "deep state", Hillary Clinton, George Soros, the FBI, ISIS, and/or possibly any combination of these working together in concert. Details differ; some - including Alex Jones - are claiming that the whole incident was staged in order to distract attention from what they assert was Trump's "successful SOTU uniting the country" and the collision itself either never took place, or that elements of the scene such as the destroyed truck and the scattered garbage were staged and witnesses to the wreck are lying. Others assert the wreck happened, but was an unsuccessful murder attempt targeting the GOP congressmen on the train. Still others contend the incident was intended to "send a message" to Republican congressmen that "they need to get off the Trump Train", whatever the hell that means.

Numerous examples of the chatter on social media about the incident can be found here.


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GOP is a literal Train Wreck



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Hatton Garden Gang Prisoners Dilemma

A judge yesterday ordered the ringleaders of the so-called Hatton Garden Gang to pay back GBP27.5 million or have another seven years in jail, on top of their sentence.

Quote:

The four ringleaders behind the Hatton Garden raid must pay a total of £27.5m or serve another seven years in jail.

John "Kenny" Collins, 77, Daniel Jones, 63, Terry Perkins, 69, and Brian Reader, 78, were ordered to pay the money back during a confiscation ruling at Woolwich Crown Court.

The gang stole goods after drilling a hole in the wall of a vault at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit in Easter 2015.

The raid has been branded the "largest burglary in English legal history".
Two thirds of the value of the stolen assets remained unrecovered.

Quote:

Judge Christopher Kinch QC said the men jointly benefitted from an estimated £13.69m worth of stolen cash, gold and gems.

The breakdown of the amounts ordered by the judge on Tuesday, based on the individuals' "available assets", are:

John Collins, of Islington, north London - £7,686,039
Daniel Jones, of Enfield, north London - £6,649,827
Terry Perkins, of Enfield - £6,526,571
Brian Reader, of Dartford, Kent - £6,644,951, including the sale of his £639,800 home and development land worth £533,000
What intrigues me is how this will work out in terms of 'Prisoners Dilemma' as formulated by the Nash Equilibrium (game theory).

This holds that broadly, where you have two or more people who must make a decision, and none of the parties know what the decision of the others will be and have no control over the other parties' decision, then Prisoners Dilemma predicts that an individual will make a decision that optimises his own position.

As applied to the above it strikes me one can have no end of amusement speculating what the likely outcome will be. Bearing in mind they are all 'old age pensioners' (OAP's).

The first issue is:

1. Were all of the above aware of the total value of the assets?

ISTM that as this is unlikely as they would need to be valued first, and then the others would have to trust what the person doing the valuing says.

2. Did all of the four named parties receive an equal share?

Ha! This is where the fun starts. True, pirates in the olden days were said to be very equitable, sharing their ill-gotten loot equally amongst themselves. However, would a bunch of old lags be equally egalitarian?

Suppose one or two received substantially more than the other one or two (or three)? What if this is the first they have heard of it?

Three have been jailed already for seven years, Reader got 6. 25 years.

3. Then there is the men's age.

Reader, who is 78 is much older than Jones, 63 and Perkins, 69. He won't be out until age 85 ceteris parabus. Another seven years would make him 92 when released. Collins is 77.

The amount of time left to enjoy their criminal proceeds is limited.

4. The parameters. Thus what we have is age and life span versus how much each man received from the proceeds.

If a younger man got a significantly larger share, then their optimal decision, based on self-interest, would be I'd say, to pay it back and get out age 70 or 75 (Jones, Perkins).

The problem would then be the rancour of the older guys. What if they haven't got the share the judges has apportioned them? Worse, suppose this is the first they knew of the true value?

I'd predict they would confess to who did exactly what and show proof of how much (or little) they in fact got.

What will happen

I wouldn't be surprised if none of them are able to repay as the funds are probably now offshore in a relative's name.

So, let the fun begin.

That judge has a brilliant grasp of game theory!


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If your doctor says you're dead, get a second opinion.

Family sues hospital and ER doc for declaring patient dead while he was still breathing. Man later died (for real) at another hospital.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.6b36b932a44f
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.49f743afaad1
http://buffalonews.com/2018/01/28/de...ff-at-degraff/


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Worst CDC Director in History Forced to Resign

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/h...d-resigns.html

Quote:

Politico reported on Tuesday that Dr. Fitzgerald had traded in tobacco stocks after taking the position at the public health agency. Her financial investments and potential conflicts of interest have been a source of concern by some Congressional officials and have impeded her ability to testify in some cases, the reports said.
More about this lady from wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Fitzgerald

Quote:

After leaving the Air force, Fizgerald entered private practice specializing in gynecology and obstetrics. While in private practice, Fitzgerald promoted "anti-aging medicines" to her patients, medicines which have been criticized as being unsupported by scientific evidence and potentially dangerous.[4][5]
Quote:

In 2013, Fitzgerald started a $1.2 million statewide school exercise program, "Power Up for 30", with a $1 million donation by The Coca-Cola Company.[9] The Atlanta soft-drink company's donation was part of a broader $3.8 million pledge to the state in Coke's campaign to combat the obesity epidemic with changes to exercise rather than diet.[9]
Her politics? (You're going to be surprised. Not.)

Quote:

In 1994, Fitzgerald ran for the Republican nomination in the 7th Congressional District in Georgia. She lost to Bob Barr, gaining 43% of the vote.[11] During the campaign she and Newt Gingrich threw symbolic crates of tea into the Chattahoochee River as a bit of political theater.[12]
She had been appointed by this lovely character:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pr...can_politician)


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Chronic Migraines

I tend to suffer from migraines, which come and go, There's periods where I get a lot, and periods where I get almost none. I have not been able to identify the trigger and for a long time, I've been searching for it. It turned out, there's more than one trigger, so that it's kinda like allergies, where you can be allergic to more than one thing.

So I decided to basically create this thread to share my triggers and have other people with chronic migraines share their triggers in the hopes that perhaps one of their triggers will resonate and I will have identified another one.

So far, here's the trigger list for mine:

CONFIRMED TRIGGERS (The list of triggers that are 99% confirmed that they will always trigger a migraine):

* Alcohol (Pretty much every time I drink ANYTHING, regardless of quantity, alcohol quality, how hydrated I am, whether or not I ate a meal.... regardless of all that, I am almost 100% guaranteed to have a migraine)
* Dehydration (Specifically if I lose electrolytes through doing a lot of exercise)


UNCONFIRMED TRIGGERS (The list of triggers that I'm not sure if they trigger migraines, as sometimes they seem to do it, and sometimes they don't)

* Coffee (Certain types, like cheap brands)
* Red meat (I've had a couple occasions of suffering from migraines after eating certain types of red meat)
* High fructose corn syrup (This one's just a hunch. I haven't really seen a correlation between migraines and, say, consumption of ketchup)
* Too much sleep (Apparently, sometimes if I sleep too much, I can wake up with a headache. This could be attributed to other factors, such as dehydration and/or lack of caffeine since I didn't have my usual cup of morning tea)


I think that's it, but I'll add more if I remember.


What are some of your triggers?


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Talking killer whales? Is this the beginning of the animal uprising?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...-a8185931.html

Granted, some of the times the whale "says" something, it sounds like a fart that I'm quite jealous of.


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mardi 30 janvier 2018

The "Great Trump Correction" coming?

I hear we may be in the beginning of a big ol' Correction for the Dow Jones.

10% decrease. 2,600 points.

Caused by over-valued prices, concerns over the bond markets, and other stuff I'm not fully aware of.

What say you?


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Have the conspiracy theorists already taken control of the US Congress?

... and of the White House too?

This is at least what you could think when you read this article


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The Michelin Guide.

Sebastien Bras's Le Suquet restaurant in southern France held Michelin's three-star rating for 18 years.

He shocked the food world in September when he decided to give up his top rating, saying he no longer wanted to cook under the "huge pressure" of being judged by its inspectors.

All seems reasonable so far, too much stress to strive for the much vaunted three stars, so exit stage left, no problem.


This is the bit that confuses me:

A prestigious food guide has allowed a top French restaurant to publicly withdraw from its listings.


I don't get the 'allowed' bit. Is there a contract? Or will Michelin keep sending undercover reviewers to your restaurant and reviewing it even after you've asked them to stop?



(I didn't really know where to put this. Mods please move if needed :) )


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Et Tu, Hair Braiding?

I saw on Yahoo News that a lot of social-mediaites are upset with Kim Kardashian for her new corn-row style braids hairstyle. Is this really verboten now too?

I'm asking because I have very long, thick, occasionally unmanageable hair. I braid it in similar style from time to time, and have never really given doing so a thought. It looks nice, it keeps everything in place, and when the braids come out, I get awesome puffy curls for a day or two. I've been doing it since I was a little kid. Do I have to stop? How common is this attitude? I don't want to offend anybody, but it seems ridiculous to me.

I've come around to basically understanding the concept of cultural appropriation as it applies to things like native dress, ceremonial jewelry, traditional rituals, and the like. But aren't we broadening the definition a bit too much by including braids? I don't think Africans are the only culture who historically braided their hair. (I haven't looked into the history though - the hairstory?). In any case, I'm not trying to emulate any particular style. I was just doing something I like, something that works for me.

What does everyone here think? (Oh, and can we PLEASE be nice? My question is asked in utterly good faith.)


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Massive mortgage meltdown looming, UK.

Many years ago, after I bought my first property with an endowment mortgage, I met someone in the know, who warned me in his view that type of mortgage was being mis-sold. At least I had refused the interest only type, but he was predicting a likely short fall, 10 years before I heard anyone else. I took heed of his advice, switched to a repayment mortgage and now I own my own house. I was lucky.

It appears that 1.67 million UK people are still only paying the interest or part of the capital. That's 17.6% of all householders with a mortgage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42872432

Most still have between 10-14 years to find a way to actually buy their house, or else in effect they have been renting and on completing the mortgage, they still do not own their home.

"We are very concerned that a significant number of interest-only customers may not be able to repay the capital at the end of the mortgage and be at risk of losing their homes," said Jonathan Davidson, executive director of supervision at the FCA."


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Pentagon restricts information on war in Afghanistan

Several news services including the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.27193cf7a032

have articles on this today.

Apparently restricting information on things like how many provinces are held or contested by the Taliban and other information.

Rather disquieting...


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lundi 29 janvier 2018

The purpose of the criminal justice system

I think the Larry Nassar thread is getting bogged down in a lot of off-topic arguments about the lengths of criminal sentencing, and the conditions of prisons that are only tangentially related. I have to admit that I am one of the most guilty of off-topic discussion, so I have decided to start this thread dedicated to questions of what a criminal justice system ought to do.

As a very patronizing reminder, the traditional theories of criminal justice are that law-breaking can be dealt with in the following ways:

deterrence: actual law-breakers are punished severely in order to deter would-be criminals from their actions. Draconian punishments may have the effect of a short sharp shock that theoretically reduces crime overall. Very heavy fines or corporal punishment in Singapore, for example, might achieve that effect. Heads on spikes might make potential treasonous assassins think again.

protection of society: Once criminals have behaved in a way that damages society, they can be locked away to prevent them causing further harm. This is usually a reactive policy, although who knows whether technology can be implemented to prevent future crime.

rehabilitation: for people who do mess up, or perhaps even for those who fear they will, they can be "fixed" somehow to make them better members of society.

reform: I'm going to distinguish this one from rehabilitation to suggest that maybe the criminal is not the problem here but the society. Let's assume that certain laws, certain law enforcement practices or a certain inequality in society is responsible for citizens' law-breaking. Then the trick is to make society better in some way.

retribution: Essentially, an eye for an eye. The idea here is that we should be more concerned with seeing a just punishment meted out to those who deserve it.

We may have to distinguish between what is theoretically preferable to what is practically achievable, but I think that I would prefer the system that strives for a global maximum in utilitarian terms. I think that retribution is almost a deliberate shunning of scientific rationalism and a demand to reverse the civilizing process that people such as Pinker have described as leading to a reduction in violence in society.

Sure, we are not merely rational beings but I doubt that it is healthy to stoke retributivist demands in people. I think it is a bad sign to have judges saying they would like to see criminals getting arse-raped in jail or celebrating hundred-year sentences.

I think the Skandanavians have it about right. That the purpose of criminal justice is to protect society, and where possible rehabilitate. Also, some societal reform is probably worthwhile almost everywhere.


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We will get to see the Nunes memo....so what?

Seems we will finally be able to see the super top secret memo that will prove once and for all that the DOJ is as corrupt as a Benghazi email sexting FBI agents while unemploying coal miners.

If the rumors are that this is just about FISA taps regarding Russian contacts is this all just nonsense?

Or is it all just super nonsense!?!


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Amazon: Digital chain gang.

Amazon might be great for customers. For workers, not so much.
Quote:

The company routinely pays wages barely above the poverty line, while using intrusive surveillance systems to monitor the workforce, fence them in with elaborate rules, set target times for their warehouse journeys, and then measure whether targets were met. All of this information is made available to management in real time, and if Amazon’s “employee-athletes” fall behind schedule, they receive a Big Brother-like text message pushing them to reach their targets or suffer the consequences. Failure to do so is met with a “three strikes and release” discipline system — being a euphemism for getting sacked.
https://www.salon.com/2018/01/29/ama...-gang_partner/


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Human testing of car exhaust fumes

So as this article explains German car makers seem to have suffered something of a lapse of judgement, again:

German shock at car exhaust tests on humans and monkeys

Quote:

...at the weekend Germany's Stuttgarter Zeitung and SWR radio reported that 19 men and six women had inhaled diesel fumes in another EUGT experiment.
During a month of tests at a lab in Aachen, west Germany, they were exposed to various concentrations of diesel fumes, which contain toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx). The BBC has not seen the study itself, but German media say it was published in 2016.
Not only is there the questionable ethics of this in the wake of the revelations that Volkswagen rigged their exhaust systems to cheat emissions tests, there's the optics of a German company doing this, I do wonder why no one seemed to consider the PR aspects of this becoming public.


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Musk selling flamethrowers?

$500 a pop, many ordered. Spoof? It's being repeated all over the place, but that doesn't prove much. The Boring Company is also reputedly selling fire extinguishers :)

The Guardian

I vote spoof, but still worry about his sanity.


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Will you be watching Trump's first SOTU?

Well, will you?

I'm a no, with the caveat that I never watch any of them no matter who is President.


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Margaret Forster

My reader has been reading to me Margaret Forster's book about the houses she has lived in, 'My Life in Houses'. This was recommended by a Librarian and we are very much enjoying it. As I had never read any of her books before, I thought it was about time I tried some! I read right through one, 'Have the men had enough?' which I found was very slow moving - and that is apart from the fact that I was reading it in braille - but it was a very thorough study of a family dealing with an elderly grandmother with rapid onset dementia. Since then I tried her book, 'Is there anything you want?' but decided I could not be interested enough in the characters to continue. And now, I'm reading 'Precious \Lives', again in braille.

I have realised that, in order to appreciate her writing,I have to be prepared to read all the comprehensive detail she puts into her work. The more I have realised this, the more I am ... well, enjoying is the wrong word, I'm not sure what word to use, since it is a sort of commitment to hard work!


I was wondering whether others here are familiar with her work and what their opinions are of it. I looked her up on Wikipedia and was very sorry to hear she died in 2016, age 77.


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EPA puts Obama-era ruling back in place

I haven't seen this covered in another thread, so apologies if it's already out there.

In not really a reversal, the EPA has grown a pair, again.

What happened, as many will recall, is that Scott Pruitt had a sit-down with the mining company and decided that they'd allow them to proceed with their application to build a very attractive and not polluting or killing off fish stocks at all, no really, we're serious, open pit mine adjacent to one of the most important salmon fisheries in the world.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1FF2ZO


Couple this with the ruling in favor of Bombardier (more ebil Canucks like the mining company) over Boeing, and apparently there are some bureaucracies that still function as they're supposed to.


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Sadopopulism: the modern American political landscape

Here is an interesting video that tries to make sense of the new political landscape of America. I like the new term coined to frame it all "sadopopulism."

[yt]oOjJtEkKMX4[/yt]

In essence it is a political dynamic where trying to make society better for the future is completely ignored in order to inflict pain on those that the populace hold enmity towards. It is a political system where one expects the government to not only not do well but to hurt them as part of the package to hurt those you hate even more.

When you think about it this explains why Trump voters would be enthusiastic about losing healthcare, environmental protections and paying higher taxes to give the rich even more money. Sure, they'll hurt, but it also all will really anger Libtards. LULZ

If politics is now just all about spite and retribution, with no thought to what might make society better, is there any hope for the future? Should I just keep accumulating survival gear or is there some hint of a rainbow we can come out of this?


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dimanche 28 janvier 2018

Help wanted in manufacturing

The conventional wisdom is that manufacturing jobs are all going away, either sent overseas to be performed by low-wage workers in poor countries, or replaced by robots.

In fact, however, it seems that there are still lots of jobs available in manufacturing for people with the right skills. The only catch is that these aren't the sort of jobs that anyone with a pulse can do. That doesn't mean you have to go to college though.

Georgia embraces Germany’s apprenticeship model

Quote:

Factory workers are aging and manufacturers are worried there won’t be enough young people with the technical skills to do their jobs. So 10 states have embraced Germany’s apprenticeship model to help fill these manufacturing positions.

In Georgia, high school students are training for factory jobs in a German-style apprenticeship program. Seventeen-year-old Northgate High School student, Cole McKeehan, has a busy schedule but still manages to wake up at 3 a.m. on Fridays so he can get to his job at E.G.O. North America.

"I love coming to work. This is something you know, unique, it's something I've never seen before,” McKeehan said. “My parents love it. They wish they had something like this they could have done." When he arrives at work, he clocks in, heads to his toolbox at his work station and gets hands-on training from an older employee who serves as his mentor.

. . .

This year, he expects to graduate with a high school diploma, an associate's degree in precision manufacturing and a full-time job offer. McKeehan is currently one of 27 students in the apprenticeship program. It began with just 10 students in the fall of 2016 in Coweta County, Georgia.

“This is a great win-win for not only the student but obviously for industry,” said Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. The state launched the program in 2016 after a German company, Grenzebach, which makes manufacturing equipment for other factories, had trouble finding workers, Cagle said.

The worker shortage is a national problem. A report from The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte found U.S. manufacturers need to fill more than 3.5 million jobs over the next decade. Starting with Tennessee in 2011, the German American Chamber of Commerce helped set up German-style apprenticeship programs in ten states: Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. There are plans underway to help expand the program to six more states.

"When we have jobs for manufacturing or reliability technicians, we have a hard time filling them,” said Tony Wilding, a manager of the Michelin Tread Technologies plant in Covington, Georgia. “We have to go outside of the area." Wilding’s company recently recruited a 15-year-old high school sophomore.
Sounds like a better plan than "I'm gonna go to college and spend 4 years studying interpretive dance and gender studies."


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[Split Thread] Robert Parry

Robert Parry died yesterday at the age of 68. A black day for American journalism which was already in such a terrible state even with this great man around.



[info=Loss Leader]Split from "Trump + Russia"[info]


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Finland re-elected it's president

So, Sunday was election night here in Finland, and as expected, the president was elected for a second term, and straight in the first round of voting too.

For a candidate to be elected president in the first round of voting, he/she must receive more than 50% of the vote; if not, then there's a second round that will have two candidates, the winner of the first round, and the one that placed second.

In these times of.... questionable leadership in many places, it seems that here in Finland, the vast majority of people were at least content with the way the President had conducted himself on his first term, and a majority liked him well enough to vote for him again - Niinistö won with 62,7% of the vote - there were eight presidential candidates, with second place receiving 12,4% of the vote. This makes him the most popular president in recent history. I bet Trump would be jealous of those numbers. :D

Now I'm wondering why I didn't place a bet that Niinistö would win a second term - the odds offered were pretty poor (something like 1.3), but it was such a certain deal that if I'd thought about it more carefully, I'd have put a thousand euros down, and made three hundred.

I do think I'm going to place a bet, as soon as I can, that the second placed candidate (Pekka Haavisto) will be the next president after Niinistö's second term - and I wouldn't be sad at that outcome; we'd get our first openly gay president in Haavisto, though that is incidental. I tend to agree with Haavisto on most issues.

On a side-note, I ended up taking one of the losing candidates home from his party headquarters, late in the evening. (I drive the taxi here in Helsinki)

Interesting night.


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The Wailing Wall and Fort Antonia

Here is a link to a site that claims the Wailing Wall is not part of Solomon's Temple, but instead is a portion of Fort Antonia, built by the Romans.
http://beginningandend.com/secret-of...mple-revealed/

It makes sense to me but it's the first article I've read regarding the location of Solomon's Temple, so I haven't yet seen the other side of the argument.

Is the below layout accepted by mainstream Christians or Jews?



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Skype Question

Hey,

I'm trying to talk to a friend in another country on Skype right now. I haven't used Skype a lot before, and never on this particular PC. It is Windows 10. I can hear her, but she can't hear me. And at some point, I made it so that she could SEE me but still not hear me. I guess it has to be a microphone issue, but I can't find anything off in the settings. Any ideas?

This is really bumming me out! I want to have a chat.


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Peak Corbyn!

Corbyn appears to be parodying himself:

"Labour will buy every homeless person in the UK a house if the party is elected, Jeremy Corbyn has announced.*

He also highlighted plans to allow councils to take over properties that have been left "deliberately" empty in order to house people who are on waiting lists around the country.*"


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018...meless-person/

How corbyn can you go?


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16 useful windows 10 tips.

A really useful link to 16 tips about how to fix windows 10

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/01/...ew-sooner.html


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Martin Castor, Denmark

A familiar face is back again:
Martin Hulbæk was debunked by investigative journalists in the series Operation X on Danish TV2 back in 2008 when he was deceiving people by telling them that he could talk with the dead and deliver messages from them to grieving relatives - even when the 'dead' had never had an actual earthly existence beyond that of fake web pages!
Yes, they set him up, and he fell for it! :) And we wrote about it in the article: Operation X - De falske åndemagere

The failed psychic Martin Hulbæk has now returned as stage magician Martin Castor in the talent show Danmark har talent on the same channel!!!

At one point he was also a hypnotist and a teacher of hypnotism, but probably not a very successful one, judged by the complaints about unfulfilled contracts.

Martin Castor also claims to have a successful career in Las Vegas. Has anybody heard about him?


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10 volt rechargable? Or other solution?

I'm trying to turn a MIDI pedalboard wireless, which means it will have to be battery powered as well.

It has a regulator which sends out 5volts to power the unit, so people have tried using regular old USB powerbanks to power it. It seems to work for some of it, though powering on sometimes asks too much, but if it fires up, most of the functions work.

However, the two onboard continuous controllers putout wavering values. I wasn't sure if a capacitor could be used to help with the powering on, and whether it could also help stabilize the continuous controllers.

A 9 volt battery powers this thing just fine, but a 9 volt doesn't have much storage capacity. Similar units use 6 AA's but that seems like a recharging nightmare to have 12 of them ready to go as in use and a spare set. Is there some sort of 10volt rechargable? I know I've seen some laptop battery banks that might work, but I figure they have some sort of circuit they need to run in for protection.

Does anyone have any ideas?


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samedi 27 janvier 2018

Steve Wynn quits amid sexual harassment allegations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42848795

US casino mogul Steve Wynn has resigned as finance chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) amid sexual harassment allegations.

A Wall Street Journal report on Friday alleged that the 76-year-old billionaire harassed massage therapists and forced one staff member to have sex with him.

Mr Wynn has denied wrongdoing, calling the stories "preposterous".

RNC chair Ronna McDaniel told US media she had accepted his resignation.

Mr Wynn has blamed his ex-wife, whom he is fighting in court, for the "slander".


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This is a morbid question

Sometimes when I surf certain parts of the net such as but not limited to the YNC I see a horrible accident where a person suffered an accident usually a traffic accident where the person is cut in two. The person is still alive.

What if anything could be done for a person in this situation?

I saw a Chinese police officer in this fix once and another time some poor Indian guy was saying something about saving his eyes for transplants etc. They are usually pedestrians or riding motorbikes.


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Total Lunar Eclipse - 2018 JAN 31

A Total Lunar Eclipse will be witnessed by many North Americans during the predawn hours of Wednesday 2018 JAN 31. It can be seen throughout Asia and Australasia during the evening.

This will occur with the Full Moon near perigee making it appear especially wide, although not quite as wide as the Full moon earlier this month. Nevertheless, when the upcoming Full Moon is just outside the Earth's penumbra (outer eclipse shadow), it will be the brightest Moon since 2009 and until 2019. Nearness to the ecliptic is what provides the added brightness.

For those of us here in Chicagoland, the Moon will set while still totally eclipsed. Many observers to our east in North America may see only the initial partial phase of the eclipse. Many further west may observe all phases of the eclipse.

Below is a link to my Moon webpage. It includes a preview graphic for the eclipse as seen against an imaginary blue wall to make the shadow fully apparent. The predicted event timings are in CST (UT-6), but will occur at essentially the same real time for all observers experiencing nighttime; just adjust for your time zone. The depicted orientation and Moon altitudes are for an observer in Chicago.

Photos and descriptions of the eclipse would be welcome additions to this thread.

Link:http://www.CurtRenz.com/moon.html


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Dear woman sues pop group

A deaf woman is suing the organisers of a Little Mix concert for failing to provide a sign language interpreter for back up acts.

Quote:

Before attending the concert at Sussex’s South of England Event Centre last September, Sally Reynolds petitioned the organiser, LHG Live, to provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter so that she and her two friends, who are also deaf, could enjoy the concert with their daughters, who are able to hear, the BBC reports.

Initially LHG offered Reynolds carer tickets and said she could bring her own interpreter. Citing the Equality Act 2010, which states that any organisation supplying a public service has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that a disabled person receives as similar as possible an experience to a person without a disability, Reynolds applied for a court injunction to oblige LHG to supply a BSL interpreter.

Before the hearing, LHG agreed to provide an interpreter, who appeared during Little Mix’s set.

However the interpreter did not appear during supporting performances, by Ella Eyre and the Germein Sisters. Reynolds is now suing LHG for failing to make reasonable adjustments for the entire performance.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...ge-interpreter

Other than commenting that having to accompany children to a Little Mix concert is one of the few occasions that I could imagine deafness having a silver lining, I'm finding it really hard to see this as anything less than an attempt to cash in, the promoter seems to have really made an effort to accommodate her demands-:

Quote:

In a statement, LHG Live told the BBC: "We received a request from Sally Reynolds to supply an interpreter.

"We consulted with her recommended agency and agreed to provide the professional interpreter of her choice for the Little Mix show.

"This included specific staging and lighting, and a set list in advance."

LHG Live also provided upgraded tickets, access to private accessible toilets and all public announcements on giant screens either side of the main stage
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42776454

I can only see this as harmful to those campaigning where disabled people are being genuinely disadvantaged.


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vendredi 26 janvier 2018

I'm sharing a bit of my "A" material here because the this section needs some juice.

This thread won't run afoul of exposing secrets (even if that is no longer an issue) because it isn't a magic trick. It's more like a stunt or a joke but you represent it as a magic trick when you start. Under no circumstances are you to sue me or Penn and Teller who wrote the article I learned this from if you damage your eye. Reader beware.

OK, this works best if you have been drinking with people thinking your judgement may be off and you and your audience are at the local Waffle House having a bite before calling it a night. You proudly state that you are going to perform a magic trick with a metal fork and your eye. You take a fork and start poking around the outside of your eye with it. I GUARANTEE your audience will be uncomfortable and ask you to stop. You act offended and tell them they are in the presence of a true artist. What your audience doesn't know is that you have cupped/palmed a small coffee creamer in your left hand. When you have worked your audience up to a frenzy that they think you are nuts you bring your left hand up to your eye (hiding the creamer from their site) and puncture it with the fork and squeeze it and the cream (eye juice) will spurt across the table definitely scaring the hell out of the gullible members of the table.

It's brilliant.


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Immigration deal for the wall and DACA?

Trump wants his wall.

Democrats want DACA.

What's a good deal?

I say give Trump his wall, in exchange for DACA and pathway to citizenship for all felonious illegal immigrants who have a job and have been in the USA for at least 10 years.

Also they can end chain migration for all but parents and children of citizens.

Thought? Questions? Answers?


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Hillary Clinton accused of shielding top adviser from harassment complaints.

Quote:

Hillary Clinton reportedly asked to keep an adviser to her 2008 presidential campaign onboard, despite accusations that he had sexually harassed a young woman.

The New York Times reported that Burns Strider, Clinton's faith adviser at the time, was accused of harassing a 30-year-old woman who sharing an office with him. The woman told the campaign that Strider sent her suggestive emails, rubbed her shoulders inappropriately and kissed her on the forehead.
USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...08/1069313001/


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WA Senate passes bump stock ban

http://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/...an/1069897001/
Quote:

"It aligns current practices with our state laws and our state laws have never allowed for fully automatic weapons," said Democratic Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, who described himself as a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. "Therefore, I believe our state should not allow bump stocks."
Senator Van De Wege should think before he speaks. WA allowed machine guns for anyone allowed to own a gun until restrictions were placed on them in 1934 and 1994. Now, other than police and military, they're restricted to licensees who are issued a license on demand as long as they fill out the application correctly.

http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/bienni...lls/5992.E.pdf
Basically the bill treats bump stocks like machine guns. The ban on making them goes into effect in July 2018, the ban on possession is on July 2019.

The votes were mostly divided on party lines. There were a few GOP yeas and at least one Democrat nay vote. The bill will go to the House where the Democrats have a small majority.

As far as I'm concerned all of the debate/motions/activity on this bill was a waste of time as it criminalizes non-violent behavior for the most part and will most likely have zero effect on crime except for those people who are foolish enough to not destroy, sell or dispose out of state their newly banned accessories.


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Why there is no Christian reason to oppose Abortion

I've never understood why fundamentalist Christians oppose abortion. They clearly DO NOT know scripture. The commandment doesn't say Thou shall not kill, it says Thou shall not murder. God orders the Jews to kill people for all kinds of offenses. A husband has a right to slay his bride if she turns out not be a virgin, an unruly child may be taken to the edge of town to be stoned. One can be stoned for picking up sticks on the Sabbath.

There simply is no scriptural injunction against abortion.


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Ship of Theseus Paradox

I just learned this term today :)

I knew of the concept of course, it's an old tradesman joke to say "Had this hammer for 30 years, replaced the handle 8 times, and replaced the head 3 times"

I actually had 1 ton Chevy pickup my Dad gave me, he bought it used and had it for ten years, and I made it last for maybe another ten years.

Thing was though by the time I scrapped it, the only original parts were, the rear axle housing, and the Vin (or Serial Number) plate :)

The frame and cab were actually both replaced ... but at different times years apart.

Legally it was the same vehicle, I guess :)


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jeudi 25 janvier 2018

The Uncaring God

I think Christopher Hitchens said it best in one, maybe two, of his presentations, where he mimicked God with arms folded, as he looked down on mankind and did nothing, whilst we struggled on in our primitive fashion, with no guidance or moral compass. I have yet to hear anything approaching a clear explanation of this from any apologist from any of the three Abrahamic God religions.

Now the period of time that God ignored his creations has become dramatically longer:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2...africa/9357276


Quote:

Modern humans were wandering out of Africa at least 180,000 years ago — some 60,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The new migration date comes after ancient stone tools and part of a fossilised Homo sapiens jaw bone with teeth were discovered in a cave in northern Israel.
Until now, the oldest evidence for modern humans outside Africa were only 90,000 to 120,000 years old
.


Now this is in Israel no less - a place that has a special place in God's mind.


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Dog shot with crossbow - no charges.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ney-topstories
Quote:

Deputies were able to identify the person who shot the dog shortly after the incident. He told investigators he found two dogs attacking his goats inside their pen and he tried to use a pitchfork to separate the dogs from the goats, but was unable to do so.

He told deputies he felt he had to shoot the dogs to protect the goats and used a crossbow because it was what was available.

The release said deputies who investigated the scene found blood sprayed on the walls in the area where the goats were kept. The goats had injuries that were consistent with dog bites, according to deputies.
The article goes on to say that dogs that harass livestock can be legally killed. A relative of the dog's owner said she was shocked that the shooter was not charged.

I wonder if she will be shocked when/if the victim sues the dog's owner for harassing his goats or gets a vet bill for the goat injuries.


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What would you do with a sequencer?

If you had a DNA/RNA sequencer, what would you do with it?

I'm talking about as a hobby.

If you could buy a reasonably priced, easy to use USB sequencer, like you can buy a USB microscope. You put a sample in, plug it into your PC and it starts spitting out data.
I suppose I'll check my own first, that would be interesting.

We are not there yet, but it's not as far off as you might think. This was sparked by the MinION. It's not as easy as just popping some blood in and there you go, but it's damn cool.

It works by passing a DNA string through a nanopore, changes in current across the pore is measured and the bases can be read.
It weighs under 100 grams and is commercially available with a starter pack for $1000. It uses consumable flow-cells, that can generate 10 - 20 Gb of sequencing data.


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Heretical proposals for future of National Drink

This suggestion reported in the Herald - on the anniversary of Burns' birth!

Is it mere provocation or does it deserve to be taken seriously?
WHISKY traditionalists are fighting a rearguard action against plans to shake up production of Scotland’s national beverage – with suggestions including maturing malts in tequila casks, using chocolate malt in the mash and even marketing low-alcohol “infusions” under big brand names.


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mercredi 24 janvier 2018

Oxford University decides that female students need more time to pass exams.

Quote:

Oxford University exam times were increased in a bid to improve the low scores of women, it has emerged.

Students taking maths and computer science examinations in the summer of 2017 were given an extra 15 minutes to complete their papers, after dons ruled that "female candidates might be more likely to be adversely affected by time pressure". There was no change to the length or difficulty of the questions.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education...me-pass-exams/

One would have thought that a prestigious university like Oxford would have done research before insulting women with their condescending "can't compete with men" policy change.

But no, political correctness supersedes evidence base policies:
Quote:

However, despite the intention being to lessen gender discrepancies, the main effect of the time increase appears to have been an increase in the number of 2:1s overall, with 2:2 figures falling. Men continued to be awarded more first class degrees than women in the two subjects.


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Illegal to be an Atheist in Kentucky

Just came across this.

https://www.inquisitr.com/408402/ken...ieving-in-god/

Quote:

Kentucky residents who refuse to acknowledge the security provided by the Almighty God could face up to a year in prison, according to a law passed in 2006. An advocacy group is now asking the US Supreme Court to challenge the law.
How is it that something as unconstitutional as this can be passed into law, and recently?


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ISIS attacks Save the Children

The charitable organization Save the Children suffered an attack on its compound in Afghanistan. ISIS is apparently already claiming responsibility. Three staff members and one Afghan soldier dead. Five attackers dead.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42808342


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Would you have a vet that advertises acupuncture?

I just moved to a new town and I was looking for a veteranarian. I did a "Yelp" search and some other background work and found one nearby that had good reviews, so I called.

First thing they did was put me on a lengthy hold, which is a big red flag to me in the first place, but in their "on hold" message, they proudly touted that they will do acupuncture on your pet. Normally, I don't have any problem with people who want to have acupuncture done on themselves, but I am strongly against having it done on children below the age of consent and of course, animals who cannot sign consent form to have quacks perform alternative medicine on them. So I hung up and immediately scheduled them with a similarly rated vet a bit further away. I consider it worth another five minute drive

Anyone else have any feeling on whether you should subject pets to unproven treatments?


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Larry Nassar gets 175 years.....

The Ex Olympic GYmnastics doctor will spend the rest of his life in prison aftter multiple convictions of sexual harassment


https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/us/na...est/index.html

I gotta love the judges reading his phony letter or regret, then tossing it.

Next step: a full investigation of how US Gymanstic team officials covered up for the bastard;would not mind them behind bars either.


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Share 500 gig of data with multiple locations

I've got about 400 to 500 gig of data in multiple documents, videos, PowerPoints, spreadsheets, etc., that I need people in multiple locations to be able to see, print, make copies, add new documents, change existing documents, etc.

Some people are using Windows 10 and some are using Macs.

It's possible that if I took out the videos (only two of use actually need access to those and I can handle that separately) I could get it down to 100 gig or so.

At the moment, everyone is on the same local network so I just have a shared drive on the network that everyone has access to. It's easy for anyone to open Explorer on Windows or Finder on a Mac and see the documents and do whatever they want.

But now everyone is going to work from home, and I need to provide everyone access to these documents, and preferably using something as simple as a shortcut on their desktop they can click and see the docs.

Any ideas?


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Mass grope at charity event in London.

At an event held by the Presidents Club, held at a hotel in London, which does raise a lot of money for charity, so they men probably think it was OK that;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42801178

"the 130 hostesses were told to wear skimpy black outfits with matching underwear and high heels and also that they could drink alcohol while working."

It gets worse;

"They were asked to sign a five-page non-disclosure agreement about the event upon arrival at the hotel, Ms Marriage said, and were not warned they might be sexually harassed."

Apparently the women were seen as fair game, groped;

"Madison Marriage, the Financial Times reporter who worked at the event, said she and "numerous other hostesses" were groped at the event...I had one woman tell me that she was shocked," she said. "She was asked if she was a prostitute on the night."

The money raised is being returned. One government advisor who was there has resigned. A government minister is under pressure, because he was there, left early, but did not report what was going on at the time. Celebrity David Walliams hosted;

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...assment-claims

"The event, attended by 360 guests including bankers, entrepreneurs and celebrities, included an auction to raise money for good causes. It was held at the Dorchester hotel and hosted by the comedian David Walliams. He pointed out that he attended in a “strictly professional capacity and not as a guest”.

In a tweet, Walliams added: “I did not witness any of the kind of behaviour that allegedly occurred and am absolutely appalled by the reports.”

I hope the police investigate and we see a series of arrests.


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The "Deep State"

I thought the subject of the alleged "Deep State" probably deserved a thread of its own. Especially as I couldn't think of a suitable thread in which to post this fun nugget: Rush Limbaugh opines that the Deep State were responsible for planting fake evidence about Saddam Hussain having WMD's, in order to embarrass Bush

It's quite a versatile theory, this "Deep State" - you can use it to excuse anything by anybody, it seems.


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mardi 23 janvier 2018

Possible Discovery of the Last Slave Ship?

I was absolutely fascinated by this article about the discovery (or re-discovery) of the last ship ever to bring slaves to the United States. As most of you probably know, while slavery was legal until the emancipation proclamation, importing new slaves was banned much earlier, in 1809. This ship was apparently part of a notorious attempt to flout the law in 1860:

Quote:

With the nation edging closer to civil war over the slavery issue, Alabama steamboat captain and plantation owner Timothy Meaher made an infamous bet that he could sneak slaves into the country, right under the noses of federal troops at the twin forts that guarded the mouth of Mobile Bay. Historian Sylvianne Diouf traced the evolution of the wicked scheme and the resulting journey in her excellent book, Dreams of Africa in Alabama, published in 2007. Attempts to contact Diouf were unsuccessful.
It's a terrific read about some excellent investigative journalism.


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R.I.P. Ursula Le Guin

A giant of her field, and a huge influence on my reading and thoughts over the years.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/o...ead-at-88.html

I can't say I read all of her work, but I loved what I read. I still have a copy of the original Earthsea Trilogy that my dad bought me about 35 years ago to keep me occupied on a family holiday. Good call.

“For a word to be spoken, there must be silence. Before, and after."

Farewell.


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Why does anyone eat sprouts?

The Jimmy Johns chain of restaurants has once again been hit with a foodborne illness outbreak thanks to their raw sprouts.

From the article:
Quote:

Sprouts in general—including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean—are a risky food with a long history of causing Salmonella and E. coli outbreaks. The reason for this is a combination of factors. First, prior to sprouting, the seeds offer a safe haven for bacteria, which steadfastly cling to the outside and even the inside of the seeds. Seeds can pick up the germs prior to being harvested in the field, where they may be exposed to manure fertilizers, contaminated irrigation water, or other sources, such as feces from wild animals. Growers now use various sanitation methods and washes to reduce contamination.

But these measures are not enough. Even with washes of the bleaching agent calcium hypochlorite, no sanitation method has proven 100-percent effective at ridding seeds of pathogens.
I'm all for vegetables, but it seems that there's no way to reliably make sprouts safe short of cooking them.

And what's the appeal? I've had sandwiches that came with sprouts (couldn't say what kind) on them several times but never found them to add any interesting flavor. At most they add a textural component, but even then I've never found it compelling enough to ask for them.

Jimmy Johns says they want to get them back on the menu, so apparently they have customers that really want them. Can any sprout believers explain why that might be so?


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Today's Mass Shooting

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/us/ke...ing/index.html

Only two dead out of 19 at least. Kentucky I would have thought you could produce better shots than that, being beaten out by Connecticut so handily?


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Man arrested after threatening to "gun" CNN employees

http://thehill.com/media/370207-man-...-cnn-employees

Quote:

A Michigan man was arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot and kill CNN employees, WGCL-TV reported Monday.

The FBI launched an investigation after the man, who is unnamed in the CBS report, reportedly called CNN 22 times about a week ago.

"Fake news. I'm coming to gun you all down,” the man told a CNN operator, according to court documents obtained by WGCL-TV.
Let's hope that people credibly threatening journalists - and especially if they're not stopped before they manage to succeed in hurting anybody - doesn't become the next trend in the US.


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lundi 22 janvier 2018

Taboo Truths: Clues Avoided by the 9/11 Truth Movement

The destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11 was used to justify war without end and a burgeoning global Police State. I for one do not want to leave this world as my legacy without putting my name on the list of people who called ‘********;’ I owe it to future generations to help chronicle the events that brought us to a place where they can be sent to war believing impossible lies told before they were born. I am what you might call a 9/11 conspiracy theorist, but what I call a concerned grandfather. I believe the fastest way to end the wars is by exposing the lies that spawned them. So I joined the 9/11 truth movement, hoping for a dose of reality, but after bouncing around from one truther hypothesis to another, I realized most of them have been avoiding the most critical clue, which is quite simply that the World Trade Center was never the fully occupied city within the city it was advertised to be, that at the time of destruction it was gutted and empty of contents as all controlled demolitions are. I know this will be a shock to read for those of you who still believe what you see and hear on television, but to learn the truth about anything these days requires a commitment of attention that most people aren’t prepared for; even my intended audience, the 9/11 Truth Community, which is allegedly already familiar with the popular 9/11 hypotheses, rejects this information as too outrageous to be considered. The connotations are mind-numbing; if the towers were empty of contents and prepared for demolition then all those big “one-percenter” firms like Marsh and McLennan and Cantor Fitzgerald couldn’t have lost employees there, implicating their leadership and any others that received government money from the Victims’ Compensation Fund. It means the media stories about the towers being cities within the city can’t be true either, doing more than just implicating the leadership of the media; it exposes them as the propaganda arm of the military. It means that the FDNY leadership knew and that the NYPD leadership knew, and that the Port Authority police certainly knew that the complex was empty and gutted and it also means that the people we saw hanging out the windows couldn’t have been real office workers either. The implications roll in like a tsunami that leaves the observer drowning in a sea of apocalypse. Taken together it’s no wonder why 9/11 truthers would retreat from this information and instead embrace exotic weapons as the answer (or even kerosene) because at least then they can avoid the paradigm shift that inevitably comes with losing faith in the rule of law. And it’s also no wonder why when confronted with evidence that can’t be denied, the reaction has been silence. There can be only one right answer to 9/11 but there’s no guarantee we’ll like it.

The most-likely suspects behind the destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon and that odd-shaped crater in Shanksville, are the leaders of most of the world’s nations, media, businesses, law enforcement, and what passes for academia. This is the only conclusion that can be reached once one examines all the evidence, so it is of utmost importance to the cover-up efforts that certain clues are avoided. For many years the leadership of the popular truth movement groups have been purposefully ignoring critical evidence while duping the rank and file into believing and repeating hypotheses that only make the truth movement look silly, and/or Anti-Semitic to the outside world; the very people we need to reach in order to stop the wars. The apparent goal of the misnamed movement is to provide a safe, discredited sandbox for truthers to play in while the war machine grinds on, and after 16 years the proof is in the pudding. If the easiest way to control the opposition is to lead it, then deliberately or not, the truth movement’s efforts have served to prevent an open dialogue of the facts, which only helps the perpetrators.

I have noticed that most truthers will avoid, or be angered by, these clues:



Evidence of dismantling (Hollow Towers)
Evidence of planted dust and missing windows
Evidence of missile damage

Full article here:
http://yankee451.com/?p=4008


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PA Supreme Court rules against Gerrymandering

Silly GOP made maps time has been ruled against, so now its time for the stalling tactics and general whining.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pa...-20180122.html


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[Split Thread] More General 9/11 CT Discussions

Mod InfoThis thread has been split from here, where it was off-topic.
Posted By:Loss Leader



Whether or not both were CD's, it's considered a standard investigation measure to check for explosives/CD/inside job anyway with cases like this. Just see how many passages of the NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation qualify the description of the WTC destruction perfectly. It may not be law, but it's considered an oversight not to. That's not up for debate. It's literally in the manual.

The average Richard Gage presentation contains more than enough solid indisputable reasons that an investigation into inside job should be investigated. Wouldn't matter if all of AE911TRUTH was literally run by mental patients. The concept of an inside job is not unknown to actual fire investigators, arsonists try to stage fake accidental fires all the time.

BTW I do not believe Plasco was a CD, not even suspect it like the WTC.


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Barry Williams of Australian Skeptics has passed away

Barry Williams (Australian Skeptics cofounder, and then president of for over a decade) passed away on Saturday.

URL: [Barry Williams]


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Netgear LAN issues

I bought a new Netgear AC1900 router and set it up per their instructions. Guest network is disabled.
I have my desktop, 3 network drives, a network printer, and a SONOS bridge plugged in to the ports on a switch, which is plugged in to the router. Netgear genie was downloaded to all of the laptops that use the network.
The initial download of Genie enabled all of the laptops and the desktop to see all the network devices. Upon shutdown, however, it all changed.
The desktop cam access everything, including the printer and internet.
The laptops can access the internet. Period
Trying to run genie is futile-nothing happens.
The desktop is Windows 7 pro 64 bit. One laptop is win 7 home 64 bit, the other is win 10 pro 64bit
Sonia can't reach the music files on the network drive. The Amazon Fire stick works.
The desktop can see the 2 laptops, and can access them.
All devices are allowed on the network.
Nome.of the Android devices (2 tablets, an IPad, and 2 phones, can do anything except access internet.
Any solutioms out there?


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Who at the White House is Trump having an affair with?

Recently, Michael Wollf mentioned that he knows that Trump is having an affair with someone at the White House, but he didn't have enough evidence write it explicitly into his book.
As a member of this august forum, I won't lower myself to discuss whether this is true or not and instead simply assume that it is.

With no additional data, who do you think Trump is fulfilling his Bill Clinton-fantasies with?


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dimanche 21 janvier 2018

A bill in WA to restrict lead ammo.

Every now and then a bill appears that bans or restricts lead ammunition. The lead styphnate used in primers is one of the primary sources of airborne lead that ends up in a shooter's bloodstream and organs. The lead plating out on barrels from cast bullets is another source. Children are most sensitive to lead contamination so protecting them from lead is a very valid issue.

http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/bienni...Bills/2805.pdf
Quote:

(1)(a) It is unlawful for any person to sell, transfer, give, or
otherwise make available any ammunition other than nonlead ammunition
to a person who is under the age of twenty-one years. For the
purposes of this section, "nonlead ammunition" means ammunition that
does not contain any lead content, excluding trace amounts of lead.
There are some exceptions;
Quote:

Subsection (1)(a) of this section does not apply to
ammunition that is given or permitted to be given to a person under
the age of twenty-one years by a parent or guardian of the person.
I'm sure most adults don't want to rely on their parents to obtain ammo or air rifle pellets.

Ranb


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[Split Thread] Musing on the definition of consent and of coercion

Mod InfoThis thread has been split from this thread, as the issues raised herein are off topic to the main subject of the thread.
Posted By:Agatha






Quote:

Originally Posted by BobTheCoward (Post 12153566)
You can't establish willingness to continue without affirmative consent.

Sure you can.

There are more things in heaven and earth, BobTheCoward, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.


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Where did the Slaves come from?

I'm trying to find information about where the slaves in the United States originated from. Given the lack of information available online, it seems as if that question isn't much of an issue for some strange reason.

Were the people captured by white "slave hunters", "legally bought" from islamic slave markets - or what? Did Americans enslave those poor people - or were they already slaves in the first place, enslaved by non-americans?


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California Democrat lawmakers look to rape small business owners

http://m.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/...-85307-tbla-27


"A proposed Assembly Constitutional Amendment by Assemblymen Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, and Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, would create a tax surcharge on California companies making more than $1 million so that half of their federal tax cut would instead go to programs that benefit low-income and middle-class families."



California Uber Alles!


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New Zealand Officially becomes a Space Faring nation!

New Zealand's Rocket Labs have propelled the country in the ranks of the USA, USSR, and China becoming the 18th nation to put a rocket into Orbit.

Congratulations to the guys (and gals) at Rocket Lab and well done. Flying the Kiwi Flag higher then it's ever been!


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samedi 20 janvier 2018

New Zealand becomes the 11th country to put satellites into orbit

and Rocket Lab is only the second private space company to do so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_oAGlhFezo

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/news/up...nuary-21-2018/

“Reaching orbit on a second test flight is significant on its own, but successfully deploying customer payloads so early in a new rocket program is almost unprecedented. Rocket Lab was founded on the principal of opening access to space to better understand our planet and improve life on it. Today we took a significant step towards that,” he says.

In the coming weeks Rocket Lab engineers will analyse the data from today’s launch to inform future launches. Rocket Lab currently has five Electron vehicles in production, with the next launch expected to take place in early 2018. At full production, Rocket Lab expects to launch more than 50 times a year, and is regulated to launch up to 120 times a year, more than any other commercial or government launch provider in history.


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Turkey attacks Kurds in Northern Syria.

Turkish war planes have launched air strikes on Kurdish militants in northern Syria, in a move likely to cause tensions with the US.

Russia has moved its troops away from Afrin, saying it is concerned but will not interfere. Syria denounced Turkey's "aggression" and "brutal attack".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-42759944

That will put the cat among the pigeons.

Does the US support the Kurds or abandon them and support turkey?

Will Syria retaliate against Turkey?

Russia will be loving this.


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Atheist and skeptical Podcasts?

Now that I am retired, I need more content for my morning dog walks.

I am a fan of Atheist Experience, but they seem to be taking a bit of a break from shows since the new year. Only a couple of sporadic episodes. Hopefully this is temporary.

The Thinking Atheist is really good too, and I appreciate his efforts to branch out a bit into more general skepticism. He himself basically admitted it gets repetitive to concentrate exclusively on debunking religion.

I used to like Dogma Debate but it has gotten very repetitive. Bring on some religious person. Let him state his position for 2 hours. Attempt to debunk it (talking to a brick wall), rinse and repeat. Even David Smalley seems to acknowledge a declining listener base, but his response seems to be to defend his format rather than possibly change.

What other good atheist or skeptical podcasts do you enjoy that I could try?


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New Zealand fishing industry under fire

New Zealand debates access to dead sea life footage

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBC News
New Zealand's fishing industry has found itself at odds with conservationists over whether or not the public should be allowed to see the realities of commercial fishing.

In the waters around New Zealand - as many countries - animals including sea birds, dolphins, penguins and sea lions are routinely ending up in commercial fishing nets along with the intended catch. In an attempt to better measure the impact of this "bycatch" on endangered wildlife, the government has started tighter monitoring, and as part of that, is proposing putting security cameras on boats.

The fisheries do not deny there is bycatch and that endangered animals do fall victim. But what should happen to the footage from these cameras has generated a debate.

The industry says it should be withheld from the public, fearing it might be misunderstood, or misused as propaganda...


How would hunting be viewed by the public if it included "byshot" including endangered species not intended to be killed?

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42729173


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vendredi 19 janvier 2018

Cape Town, on verge of running out of water

Perhaps this metropolis of 4 million people will be the first casualty of global climate change.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cape-to...-south-africa/


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Emotional Support Dog bites passenger on Delta Flight

Quote:

A passenger on a Delta Air lines flight was bitten by another passenger’s emotional support dog.

The incident happened Sunday during boarding of Flight 1430 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, on a Boeing 737-900ER bound for San Diego.

“During the boarding process, a passenger’s emotional support animal bit another passenger,” said Delta spokesman Anthony Black. The dog was sitting on its owner’s lap in the middle seat, while the victim was seated in the window seat next to him.

The incident was first reported by Fox 5, which quoted a passenger who said: “The gentleman’s face was completely bloody…. his shirt was covered in blood.”
http://airport.blog.ajc.com/2017/06/...-delta-flight/


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All the kids are eating Tide Pods....maybe

If you aren't on social media you may not even be aware that literally all the millennials are eating Tide Pods laundry detergent and ending up in ERs where us responsible adults are required to pay for their treatment and....something something.

Anyways my Facebook feed has basically been nonstop "LOL teenagers are so stupid they eat laundry detergent this is why we need to bring back spanking and Jesus" memes for a week now. And I have to wonder...is this even a real thing? Because I wonder if this is just as fabricated as "Rainbow Parties" and "Vodka Tampons" which previous generations were so keen on they were just lining up around the block to try! #ThanksOprah #Oprah2020BCE

I know some screengrabs are going around but they only show intact pods in the mouth. Just how much evidence is there of actual teenagers eating them specifically because of some online challenge and if there is evidence is this reason enough to kick kids off health insurance as the memes suggest we should do?



Buy the way when the Tide Pods first came out they not only looked like candy they also smelled like Oranges and I was like "this is a lawsuit waiting to happen" but the new ones smell terrible.


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New Article about iSkep and AeTruth and 9/11

Here is a very interesting article that was featured in Gizmodo today about 9/11 truthers and featuring an appearance by the Giddy Debunkies here:

Quote:

Tony Szamboti, a mechanical engineer, JFK assassination conspiracy theorist, and longtime AE911Truth foot soldier, has been the most prominent truther in the trenches, battling giddy debunkers on the International Skeptics Forum (a science-centered discussion board that grew out of the James Randi Educational Forum, which often focuses on debunking hoaxes, conspiracies, and popular myths) and attempting to salvage the time he invested in a battered ideology.
Enjoy!

https://gizmodo.com/why-9-11-truther...ris-1822203542


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Oldest software you still use

Discounting stuff like Notepad which has been around as part of the OS or apps that you have a newer version of but the app itself has been around a long time.

Examples might be:

Win XP
MS Word 97

I guess you could include games tho I was thinking more of practical stuff.


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Teenagers are better behaved and less hedonistic nowadays

Quote:

AT THE gates of Santa Monica College, in Los Angeles, a young man with a skateboard is hanging out near a group of people who are smoking marijuana in view of the campus police. His head is clouded, too—but with worry, not weed. He frets about his student loans and the difficulty of finding a job, even fearing that he might end up homeless. “Not to sound intense,” he adds, but robots are taking work from humans. He neither smokes nor drinks much. The stigma against such things is stronger than it was for his parents’ generation, he explains.

Young people are indeed behaving and thinking differently from previous cohorts at the same age. These shifts can be seen in almost every rich country, from America to the Netherlands to South Korea. Some have been under way for many years, but they have accelerated in the past few. Not all of them are benign.

Perhaps the most obvious change is that teenagers are getting drunk less often (see chart 1). They start drinking later: the average age at which young Australians first try alcohol has risen from 14.4 to 16.1 since 1998. And even when they start, they sip rather than chug. In Britain, where a fifth of 16- to 24-year-olds do not drink at all, the number of pubs is falling by about 1,000 a year, and nightclubs are faring even worse. In the past young people went out for a drink and perhaps had something to eat at the same time, says Kate Nicholls, head of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, a trade group. Now it is the other way round.

...

Nor are young people harming each other as much as they used to. Fighting among 13- and 15-year-olds is down across Europe. Juvenile crime and anti-social behaviour have dropped in England and Wales, and with them the number of juvenile convicts. In 2007 almost 3,000 young people were in custody; by 2016 the number was below 1,000.

Teenagers are also having less sex, especially of the procreative kind. In 1991, 54% of American teenagers in grades nine to 12 (ages 14-18) reported that they were sexually experienced, and 19% claimed to have had sex with at least four partners. In 2015 those proportions were 41% and 12%. America’s teenage birth rate crashed by two-thirds during the same period. As with alcohol, the abstention from sex seems to be carrying through into early adulthood. Jean Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University in California, has shown that the proportion of Americans aged 20-24 who report having no sexual partner since the age of 18 rose from 6.3% for the cohort born in the late 1960s to 15.2% for those born in the early 1990s. Japan is a more extreme case. In 2015, 47% of unmarried 20- to 24-year-old Japanese men said they had never had sex with a woman, up from 34% in 2002.

In short, young people are less hedonistic and break fewer rules than in the past. They are “kind of boring”, says Shoko Yoneyama, an expert on Japanese teenagers at the University of Adelaide. What is going on?
https://www.economist.com/news/inter...haved-and-less

Surely this is a mostly positive development?


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