I don't think space is expanding.

Cosmology seems to be getting a lot of press these days. And not really good press.

Just search for cosmology and news, and you'll see things like "crisis" and "new physics".

The gist is the best new measurements of the expansion of space disagree. Either 74 or 64.7.

Here's my take.

Imagine you're jogging down the road and every block you pass you look at your watch, and every block takes 2 minutes.

Then one day you run farther than normal, as you go, you notice that it takes 2:03 to run a block, then 2:10, then 2:29.

Clearly, the blocks far away from your house seem to be growing!

What makes them grow? Dark forces!

Obviously, that's not the case, you're just slowing down. Blocks aren't expanding. You're just not running as fast as when you started.

But imagine it's 1930, and relativity is really new and really cool. And galaxies are also really new and really cool.

And we're not talking about a jogger, we're talking about light.

Light travels to infinity forever at c. Relativity says so.

Or..... maybe it doesn't. At least, not for infinity it doesn't.

The speed of a wave of frequency x wavelength.

Redshift is an observed drop in frequency.

Take literally.... redshift would lead to a drop in frequency

I make a hypothesis based on this:

v_photon = c - H * D

It's basically Hubble's Law, but moved to the speed of a photon, instead of the speed of a galaxy.

I also found that this version of Hubble's law is slightly different than the standard model, in that it predicts less expansion at the extreme end of the observable range, which is what we see with the Hubble tension.

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What really happened at the "First Thanksgiving"

I was thinking about Thanksgiving recently. (Go figure) And I was thinking about what I learned of it in school. I was in second grade in 1970. It was a rather cynical era, and grew more cynical every year. So, in second grade we learned about how the Pilgrims got together to give thanks for the blessings of harvest, and how friendly Indians came and joined their celebrations. We eat turkey in remembrance of what the Pilgrims ate.

By Junior High School, the teachers were having none of that. It probably didn't even happen, and the Indians almost certainly didn't come, and it's not likely they had turkey. One story I read said they probably ate eels. The white men then conquered the Indians and took over the joint, but made up this fairy tale story to make white people look good.

Well, I never really questioned either the fairy tale original, or the more realistic sounding replacement. For some reason, though, I found myself thinking about it this year and it occurred to me that we have the internet now, and I could read about it in the real sources. I googled "Thanksgiving primary sources", and came up with this:

https://www.pilgrimhall.org/pdf/TG_W...ed_in_1621.pdf

(Excerpts follow)
Edward Winslow, Mourt's Relation:
"our harvest being gotten in, our governour sent foure men on fowling, that so we might after a speciall manner rejoyce together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labours ; they foure in one day killed as much fowle, as with a little helpe beside, served the Company almost a weeke, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Armes, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoyt, with some ninetie men, whom for three dayes we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deere, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governour, and upon the Captaine and others. And although it be not always so plentifull, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so farre from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plentie."

William Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation:
In the original 17th century spelling
"They begane now to gather in ye small harvest they had, and to fitte up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health & strenght, and had all things in good plenty; fFor as some were thus imployed in affairs abroad, others were excersised in fishing, aboute codd, & bass, & other fish, of which yey tooke good store, of which every family had their portion. All ye somer ther was no want. And now begane to come in store of foule, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besids water foule, ther was great store of wild Turkies, of which they tooke many, besids venison, &c. Besids, they had about a peck a meale a weeke to a person, or now since
harvest, Indean corn to yt proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largly of their plenty hear to their freinds in England, which were not fained, but true reports."

Those are the only two primary sources.

They're the fairytale version. All that stuff that they said about the "first Thanksgiving" back in the second grade all happened. The settlers didn't call themselves Pilgrims, and their hats didn't look like the ones in the pictures, but other than that, the fairy tale version was pretty much spot on.

Even when it comes to the relations with the Indians, the Plymouth Colony settlers and the local Indians got on quite well for a long time, most of the lifetimes of the people who landed at Plymouth. Obviously, eventually, things soured, as more colonists came over and eventually white people pushed aside, drove out, or just plain killed the Indians, but that actually came much later.

I just found it interesting that the second grade, idealistic, story, that was ridiculed by the more sophisticated teachers who came along later in the '70s, was actually the accurate version, right down to the turkeys.

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[Continuation] The One Covid-19 Science and Medicine Thread Part 3

Continuation from: http://www.internationalskeptics.com...d.php?t=344976

Posted By:Darat

Another Ivermectin study. Small randomized clinical trial but with rather strong positive benefits.

https://icite.od.nih.gov/covid19/sea...rdId=rs-109670

Ivermectin as an adjunct treatment for hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients: A randomized multi-center clinical trial

Abstract
Background: It appears that ivermectin can potentially act against COVID-19 infection. Today, it is an urgent need to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ivermectin. The effect of ivermectin therapy on mild to severe COVID-19 patients was investigated.

Methods: A 45-days randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, phase 2 clinical trial was designed at five hospitals. A total number of 180 mild to severe hospitalized patients with confirmed PCR and chest image tests were enrolled. The radiographic findings, hospitalization and low O2 saturation duration, and clinical outcomes such as mortality and variables of blood samples were analyzed using standard statistical analyses in SPSS (V20).

Results: Average age of the participants was 56 years (45-67) and 50% were women. The primary and secondary results showed significant changes between day zero and day five of admission (∆ 0/5) in terms of ΔALC5/0, ΔPLT5/0, ΔESR5/0, ΔCRP5/0, duration of low O2 saturation, and duration of hospitalization (CI = 95% ). Risk of mortality was also decreased significantly in the study groups.

Conclusion: Ivermectin as an adjunct reduced the rate of mortality, low O2 duration, and duration of hospitalization in adult COVID 19 patients. The improvement of other clinical parameters showed that the ivermectin, with a wide margin of safety, had a high therapeutic effect on COVID-19.

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“These violent delights....”

From the start of HBO’s “Westworld”, I’d wondered about Anthony Hopkins’ quote, “These violent delights bring violent ends..”

Should have known, Shakespeare of course... From Romeo and Juliet.

I just re-watched Season3, which I really enjoyed; they went all Cyberpunk with that one. Can’t wait to see where they go with season 4.

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Trove of rock art in Columbia

A newly-discovered area of rock art, dating to over 12,000 years, was discovered in the Amazon rain forest in Columbia:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/...-amazon-forest
Researchers are referring to the “Sistine Chapel of the Amazon”.

Many of the images are so high on the rock wall that researchers speculate that wooden towers were used to create them

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When will the first subpoena be issued to Trump?

The common belief is that Trump will be facing multiple legal battles in multiple jurisdictions the moment he leaves office. Defamation, tax fraud, insurance fraud, perjury, obstruction of justice are just a few.

So how soon can we expect the first subpoena being issued, if ever?

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[Split Thread] Low salt/ low sodium diets

Quote:

...we're working on my low sodium.

You know how easy that is to fix, right?:D

Split from this thread. Please keep to the topic and avoid personalising the issues.

Posted By:zooterkin

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The Mideast..here we go again....

THis could get nasty with Iran swearing revenge.......

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Spirit Boxes

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for technical informations about the Spirit Boxes.

-What's inside?
-How does this technically work?
-Does it scans Am and FM frequencies?
-At what speeds does it scans (if I understood there are different settings)
-What is the time between scans? (How long does it stay on one frequency before switching to an other?)
-Is there a more popular model?

Thanks y'all!

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Missing prescriptions?

The following is a comment i received on my other thread. I don't know if there's a way to tag the user but I asked for his permission and if he says no I'll delete it, but I was hoping someone could help me explain this:

"A few weeks ago I picked up a prescription, and lost it; I had refills, so the pharmacy filled it again - AND I LOST IT. I *still* had refills, but then the doc said maybe I shouldn't be on this medication - he was worried about my absentmindedness; he didn't want to miss anything if I was having bad side effects. Well, a couple of days later one of the bottles turned up, but the date made no sense and five pills were gone which should have been impossible.

To cut the anecdote short it was a complete mystery. The fill date does not match my memory of either of the lost refills, and the pill count is off. If I were one to assign cosmic meaning I might wonder if the "universe" wanted me to get off this drug. But if so, why did it throw the bottle back at me ?

I'm not automatically hostile to the idea that the universe is sending me messages, and I know people who talk this way all the time. But ultimately I don't have the kind of brain that can really believe it, either. When I talk like that, I'm speaking ironically."

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Cosmological Education

Morning all,

As one does, I stumbled across an article suggesting that dark matter may be incompatible with strong theory. I find myself facinated by these ideas but frankly as I read through I find I only understand parts of what I'm reading. What is early inflation? What is the Big Bounce theory?

So, the question is, do any of you have book recommendations that either you or people you know have read that were excellent on the subject but allow for the layman to engage with it as well?

Should I be looking at Cox? Hawking?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Billionaires win again

The nation's billionaires have added a trillion dollars to their wealth since March.

Quote:

On March 18, according to a report Collins and his colleagues published last week, America’s 614 billionaires were worth a combined $2.95 trillion. When the markets closed on Tuesday, there were 650 billionaires and their combined wealth was now close to $4 trillion. In the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, American billionaires’ wealth grew by a third.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/o...lionaires.html

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Automatic Payment set up by itself?

My parents discovered today that the monthly mortgage rate was already paid when they went to pay it. It was automatic pay, which they don't use. They think they set it up by mistake last month, but I've read about it, it seems hard to accidently set up, especially because they usually pay $180 a month instead of the recommended $360, but this month it automatically paid the $360. My idea was that my mom might've clicked set up auto pay last month but I figured it wouldve also paid $360 last month or auto paid $180 this month. Ideas?

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Proud Boys Are Such Nice People..

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/25/us/ex...ber/index.html

These people really need a good old can of whupass opened up on them.

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Public & private combo health care systems

How can they possibly work?

I gather that there are combos like this working out there right now, so I'm not arguing that they don't or can't. But when I picture the USA firing up a public option and leaving the private industry as it is, I can only picture it failing miserably. So what's making the difference between reality in those other countries and the only outcome I can foresee here?

These are the two processes that I'm stuck on...

1. In the USA, anything that primarily helps people with less money is constantly under attack in government as a waste of money, and only things that the rich use too are protected, because the fundamental force behind how our government works is legal bribery. So the only way for any new program to have much of a chance of lasting would seem to be to make sure the rich are using it too. What would make this not the case in other countries that have intact hybrid health care systems, and how is it the same as or different from here? Is it just that bribery is actually not allowed there so government isn't all about just doing what the rich buy? Does the same kind of general principle I just described here also usually work there, but not in the case of the medical system because they've found some way to protect just this one kind of program from the usual way business is done?

2. A government health care system that was more expensive than private options would be pointless, but, if it were cheaper, it would primarily attract people who are more of a burden to the system, whom the private companies don't want and are always looking for ways to get rid of anyway. This would not only boost the private companies' profit percentages but also make the government alternative look inordinately inefficient every time anybody compared their incomes & outgoes. And "government inefficiency" is the primary battle-cry of those who want to be routinely chopping budgets and closing/cancelling entire programs. So that's just another way that starting a non-universal government program looks like a setup for its own later elimination with a "well we tried so now we know that doesn't work", with the program's head on a pike as a warning not to ever try that "failure" and "disaster" again. But in countries where that hasn't happened, why not? Is there some force that keeps their prices about the same or causes the distribution of different kinds of patients not to go lopsided? Is there just a lack of prowling budget-choppers & program-cancellers always sniffing for their next target in those countries' political cultures? Is there some other kind of protection in place against the natural inclination for patients to self-separate like this?

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[Split Thread] A Failed Prophecy

This thread was split from a politics thread. Please discuss this particular failed prophecy and other more general aspects of failed prophecies in this thread, but do not discuss politics. I recognise that this is a fine line to walk but I'm confident that ISF members can manage it.

Posted By:Agatha

This may be more appropriate for another section of the forum, but I wonder about all those high-profile preachers who have insisted that God told them Trump was going to win.

I think Hemant Mehta needs to create a list.

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Kalergi

The Kalergi conspiracy theory according to wiki ..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalergi_Plan

Quote:

The Kalergi Plan (Italian: Piano Kalergi), or sometimes called the Coudenhove-Kalergi Conspiracy,[1] is a far-right,[2] anti-semitic, white nationalist conspiracy theory,[3] which states that a plot to mix white Europeans with other races via immigration was constructed by Austrian-Japanese politician Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi and promoted in aristocratic European social circles.[4] The conspiracy theory is most often associated with European groups and parties, but it has also spread to North American politics

I'm trying to get up to speed on the Kalergi plan. The first question to as is 'is there any evidence for it?'.

Let's have a look ...https://www.bitchute.com/video/GPCK1qAwvi8a/


How about Kalergi himself ....he wrote ...https://towns.fetchyournews.com/2019...n-replacement/

Quote:

The man of the future will be of mixed race. Todays races and classes will gradually disappear owing to the vanishing of space, time and prejudice. The Eurasian-Negroid race of the future, similar in its appearance to the ancient Egyptians, will replace the diversity of peoples with a diversity of individuals. Instead of destroying European Judaism, Europe against her will, refined and educated this people, driving them to their future status as a leading nation through this artificial evolutionary process. It’s not surprising that the people that escaped from the Ghetto-prison, became the spiritual nobility of Europe. As a people, Jews experience the eternal struggle of quantity against quality; inferior groups against superior individuals; inferior majorities against superior minorities.

What did Churchill have to say about Kalergi ...http://www.churchill-society-london..../astonish.html

Quote:

We must build a kind of United States of Europe. In this way only will hundreds of millions of toilers be able to regain the simple joys and hopes which make life worth living. ..... Much work has been done upon this task by the exertions of the Pan-European Union which owes so much to Count Coudenhove-Kalergi and which commanded the services of the famous French patriot and statesman, Aristide Briand.

How about the Pan-European Union that Kalergi founded https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paneuropean_Union
There are currently 29 nations represented, former members include
Konrad Adenauer Albert Einstein Sigmund Freud Ortega y Gasset Charles de Gaulle Thomas Mann Richard Strauss

The Kalergi Prize is awarded every two years ... https://www.presidency.ro/en/media/p...klaus-iohannis

Quote:

Among the European Prize Coudenhove-Kalergi laureates are prominent European and international leaders, who have made their mark on the history of the continent in the last half-century, such as: Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission (2014); Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council (2012); Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany (2010); Vaira Vīķe - Freiberga, President of Latvia (2006); renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin (1999); Emil Constantinescu, President of Romania (1998); Lennart Meri, President of Estonia (1996); Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America (1992); Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of Germany (1990); Juan Carlos I, King of Spain (1986); Sandro Pertini, President of Italy (1984); Konstantinos Tsatsos, President of Greece (1980); Raymond Barre, Prime-minister of France (1978). In 2018, the Prize was awarded posthumously to the Heavenly Hundred, the Ukrainian heroes of the Euromaidan.

The Kalergi plan and the UN ...https://www.bitchute.com/video/cptvoxuorZBG/


The Kalergi plan a full documentary ... https://www.bitchute.com/video/OAJBeDxx8Zlr/

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Metal monolith found in remote part of Utah

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...e-part-of-utah

Quote:

A mysterious monolith has been discovered in a remote part of Utah, after being spotted by state employees counting sheep from a helicopter. The structure, estimated at between 10ft and 12ft high (about 3 metres), appeared to be planted in the ground. It was made from some sort of metal, its shine in sharp contrast to the enormous red rocks which surrounded it.

Anybody got a clue as to what it might be?

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Darwin’s notebooks reported stolen

Charles Darwin's notebooks reported stolen from Cambridge University

Quote:

Two Charles Darwin manuscripts have been reported as stolen from Cambridge University library two decades after they were last seen. Staff believed the precious items had been “mis-shelved” within the vast archives late in 2000 and the matter was not reported to Cambridgeshire police until 20 October this year. The force said it has launched an investigation and notified Interpol.

One of them is the one with the “tree of life” sketch in it.

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[Continuation] Allegations of Fraud in 2020 US Election Part II

Continuation thread from: http://www.internationalskeptics.com...d.php?t=347832

Posted By:Darat

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Mind Matter Interaction with quantum entropy?

I saw a comment on the App review for randonautica that says this: "You can pair your mind matter with quantum entropy if you want to entangle your consciousness with observable reality in the process. But this is an unusual app, it's almost like it taps into your mind and is able to pick up on anomalies". I'm not a great skeptic, or too knowledgeable on quantum physics so I was hoping a smarter, more skeptical mind could help with this

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Transition Period to Handover

Trump tweets:

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Crazy Coincidences

So yesterday I was watching the Office, as I do most days, and it was an episode where Dwight was wearing a Cornell Sweatshirt as he wanted to apply there. Later when i went to the store, I saw a kid with a Cornell Sweatshirt on. Then, the same day, I was watching another episode where Michael quits, and as he was telling the story I saw a meme on my phone from the Wolf of Wall Street where he says: "I'm not F***ing leaving", which was pretty much what happened in the office episode. Then this morning I see an episode of Friends where Rachel quits. I've been noticing a lot of these coincidences lately too

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Georgia 2020 Senate Election: GOP is cheating

The SoS of Georgia is doing his best to disenfranchise minorities from the upcoming Senate race. Just last night, at midnight, they passed a rule that requires new registrations to be held until after the election if the potential voter does not own a car.

These clowns should be in jail.

Also, they are doing their best to purge voters from the registration lists. If you live in Georgia, make sure you aren't purged.
https://www.savemyvote2020.org/georg...rge-list-2020/

Ahh, the GOP. They know they can't win on the merits of their policies and ideas. They can only win by cheating.

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Every British swearword, categorised by offensiveness

Research carried out by Ofcom. NSFW, obviously: https://www.indy100.com/news/british...-ofcom-7340446

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Covid vaccines - supply, distribution and rollout

This thread is about the supply, distribution and rollout of the various covid vaccines but mainly about the science and facts behind how the vaccines should be used. Since this will of course involve political decisions I'll allow discussion of politics that are directly related to the topic. General bashing of politicians etc won't be allowed.

Posted By:Darat

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Britain: A "scandalous lack of progress in reducing femicide"

Quote:

This Wednesday is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which will see the start of 16 days of activism against gender violence globally. That same day also sees the publication in the UK of a groundbreaking report, Femicide Census, which, for the first time in Britain, analyses the shocking killings of women and girls, from the age of 14 to 100, at the hands of men, over a 10-year period, 2009-2018. The census defines “femicide’” as “men’s fatal violence against women”, and reveals that, on average, a woman was murdered every three days – a horrifying statistic, unchanged over the decade. This is in spite of greater public awareness, increased research, changes in the law and improved training for the police. “Patterns of male violence are persistent and enduring,” the report states. The scandalous lack of progress in reducing femicide in the UK is, in part, because each killing, is treated by various agencies as “an isolated incident” and “giving no cause for wider public concern”. As a result, the report says, information received from the police via, for instance, Freedom of Information requests, can be “sparse, inaccurate or incomplete”; coroners’ reports often fail to reference a history of male violence, while it is difficult to access official documents such as Independent Office for Police Conduct reports and domestic homicide reviews, all of which, along with media coverage, feed into the database of the census. ... Of the 1,425 victims, almost half were killed by “a sharp instrument”, sometimes with additional brutal violence (classed as an “overkilling”). “The most common form of femicide is stabbing,” Ingala Smith says. “Yet most knife-crime strategies focus on teenagers and gang crime.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...ut-uk-femicide

A damning report indeed. Personally i think the most shocking finding is that so many British households are keeping dangerous KNIVES in their homes that are so readily able to be used by men to kill women. Something must be done! Is it not about time the British people finally banned knives altogether?

What do the Brits have to say in defense of their woman murdering ways?

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The conspiracy to overturn the 1st Amendment

This conspiracy has been waged for 30+ years by the ADL, as exemplified by these documents ....

'Hate Crime Laws'
https://web.archive.org/web/20040205...rime/print.asp
and
'Racists. Bigots, and the Law on the Internet'
https://web.archive.org/web/20040411...rnet/print.asp

The conspiracy is now open, explicit, and pervasive, e.g. see

'Biden state media appointee advocated using propaganda against Americans and ‘rethinking’ First Amendment'
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/11/11/r...a-usagm-biden/

Here is a good example of how it works ...

'Abby Martin's Lawsuit'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTCQc6aRIiY&t=315s


The Trump administration is on board ....

'Executive Order Banning Antisemitism'
https://www.whitehouse.gov/president...anti-semitism/

It's really quite remarkable. A few years ago the internet gave us the illusion that we really did have free speech in the US. But now we see that the free speech illusion could only be maintained as long as big money had control of the media.

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Falsifying the history of WW II

Checking wiki we read ....
"Start of World War II
In private discussions in 1939, Hitler declared Britain the main enemy to be defeated and that Poland's obliteration was a necessary prelude for that goal."

In my kid's 11th grade history book we read ....
"Hitler was ready to conquer Europe."

In the 9th grade text ...
“Hitler had no interest in avoiding war.”
which, incidentally, I complained about to the publisher and it was changed to...
"Hitler, however, ignored these warnings. He had already made plans to invade Poland.”

For the good account of the beginning of the war see Buchanan's "Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War", for a quick intro see
https://www.bitchute.com/video/ALp2GkpcuzZi/

Also I just chanced on this quick intro to the subject ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCu7IT81gh8

For immediate proof that Hitler did everything he could to avoid war with the west see the photo and caption below showing a Brit reading a leaflet dropped by the Nazis over London promoting a negotiated settlement before a European war began ..

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What about the holohoax ????

Where is the holohoax discussion? :)

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Short film about the paranormal and skepticism

Hi everyone!

I'm an amateur movie director and I just released a short film about the paranormal and skepticism (30 min).:blush:

The film is in French, but I created and burnt-in English subtitles, meaning you don't even need to turn on captions :)

I'm interested in getting feedbacks from the skeptics community.

:jaw-droppI’m not allowed to post direct links so enter “zetetikos film” in the youtube search bar or complete the address below with https:

//youtu.be/ag_pFdS9mnM

Thanks!

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RIP Aricebo

The iconic Aricebo radio telescope is to be decommissioned.

Arecibo Heartbreak: Iconic SETI Dish Will Be Demolished Due to Risk of ‘Catastrophic’ Collapse

Quote:

The recent failure of two support cables at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has destabilized the structure such that it cannot be repaired without placing construction workers at significant risk, according to officials with the National Science Foundation. As feared, the beloved 1,000-foot telescope will have to be decommissioned. As if 2020 couldn’t get any worse, we received news this morning that the giant dish at Arecibo will have to be demolished. The National Science Foundation came to this hard decision following a review of engineering assessments, which concluded that the observatory is in seriously bad shape and that it cannot be stabilized without placing workers in danger. The NSF is now planning for the controlled decommission of the dish, ending a historic 57-year run. “I want to say this as forcefully as possible,” said Ralph Gaume, the director of NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences, at a call for reporters earlier today. “We’re not closing the Arecibo Observatory.” Indeed, while the 1,000-foot dish will have to be demolished, it will need to be done in such a way to protect the facility’s other assets, including many important buildings under Tower 12. Once the observatory is deemed safe, scientific activities will resume at the site, including work with LIDAR to study Earth’s atmosphere. The University of Central Florida manages Arecibo for the NSF, in a cooperative agreement that involves Universidad Ana G. Méndez and Yang Enterprises.

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Calorie restriction can help you live longer

One of those things one reads about. One of those things that promise a lot but are probably bull? Except not, in this case: not bull, fact. Calorie restriction, intentionally starving the body, does help you live longer.

An informative post* in another thread set me thinking that this is something I must read up on, learn some more about -- and perhaps, if it seems entirely genuine, as well as easily doable, incorporate into my lifestyle? Except one makes these must-read lists, and never gets to actually following up on them.

Best to get a discussion going on this. Living longer seems like a good idea, no?

----------


* The post I was refering to:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louden Wilde (Post 13299462) I mean overall life/health-span (the latter being the the portion of an organisms life in which they are reasonably good health, e.g. mobile, functional). Calorie restriction had been shown to extend life/health span in rats as far back as the 1930s - it has since been shown to work in pretty much every organism tested. Obviously we can't in test this in humans as rigorously as we'd like (i.e. by by going through the whole lifespan), but biomarkers suggest this is the case with us as well. An even better biomarker than telomeres (IMO, and others) is the epigenetic clock Note this method can also estimate when you are likely to die Evidence is increasing for those other two. When I left academia a few years ago (where I had done some environment/epigenetics work), I spent a year at a biotech working in this area, and so got pretty up on the literature. Just finishing work and frankly don't feel like digging all the refs up right now. Worth noting that these same stressors can have protective effects in other areas: e.g. Protection against renal ischemia-reperfusion injury through hormesis? Dietary intervention versus cold exposure Dietary restriction (DR) and fasting (FA) induce robust protection against the detrimental effects of renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (I/RI). Several mechanisms of protection have been proposed, such as hormesis. Hormesis is defined as a life-supporting beneficial effect resulting from the cellular responses to single or multiple rounds of (mild) stress. The cold exposure (CE) model is a stress model similar to DR, and has been shown to have hormetic effects and has proved to increase longevity. CE is considered to be the most robust method to increase metabolism through activation of brown adipocytes. BAT has been considered important in etiology of obesity and its metabolic consequences.

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Birth certificates - what do we need on them?

This came up in another thread so rather than derailing that thread any further I thought I’d start a new thread for the discussion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lithrael (Post 13298688) Yeah, seems to me the parentage listed on the birth certificate has long been one of the things that’s more about a social role and often not about a biological reality. Factors like “genetic testing isn’t done” and “fertility donors aren’t listed” means the birth certificate has always been more of ‘a lead to follow up when trying to discover,’ than ‘a document of,’ genetic parentage for the kid on it. But we do need a strong public understanding that you need to be bringing genetic facts with you when you rock up at the genetic disease test doctors.

A lot of the impetus for the evolution of birth certificates came from registration of a birth for the purpose of taxation, property rights and inheritance rights. Oh and military conscription. You can see this with the classical definition of a bastard, the father could be known but not on the official record therefore meaning the bastard could not make a claim on their father nor on his estate after he died but the birth would still be registered. (But if you could raise a big army you could make a strong argument that you should inherit- looking at you Mr Tudor!)

Even further back Romans were quite blasé about the actual biological parentage, if a bloke said a kid was his that was enough and by law it became his kid. (Noting of course that a Roman woman couldn’t do the same...)

So yes birth certificate and what is recorded on them are very much a societal creation.

I could see these days reviewing what is the important information required and how we label it.

In terms of labels I’d say it doesn’t matter if my father was labelled as “Y DNA provided by” or some such label as it doesn’t alter anything.

Personally I don’t think it matters having mother or father (or other labels) on a birth certificate, it is after all meant to be a record that officially establishes me as a citizen with rights.

Perhaps we should deal with parentage separately to birth certificates, it is what we do after all in adoptions.

One of the reasons sometimes given for including mother and father is that the knowledge of father and mother is needed for medical reasons especially inheritable diseases and conditions but there is a degree of uncertainty in that, it seems to be agreed that between 1 in 25 and 1 in 50 fathers in the UK are not who appears on the birth certificate and the fathers do not know this. (There will also be a number of fathers who know they aren’t the biological father but for many different reasons agree to be recorded as the father on a birth certificate.) So as Lithrael said we don’t require actual proof that the correct parents are recorded so at best it is a “probable” parent.

I’d also say that given our ever improving understanding of disease and conditions and how they relate to our genetic code it probably these days makes more sense to rely on the persons actual DNA rather than the “hearsay” of a birth certificate.

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The Brereton Report

Source - I expect that there will be permanent links to this later.

Quote:

The findings of the Brereton report have just been released. They are truly shocking. Australian special forces were allegedly involved in the murder of 39 Afghan civilians and cruelly treated two others. In some cases, they allegedly executed prisoners to “blood” or initiate junior soldiers, giving them their first kill, before inventing cover stories and planting weapons on corpses to hide their actions.. Brereton’s report describes the special forces’ actions as “disgraceful and a profound betrayal” of the Australian Defence Force and all it stands for. His report details 23 incidents in which 39 Afghans were unlawfully killed, either by special forces or at the instruction of special forces. None of the killings took place in the heat of battle, and they took place in circumstances which, if accepted by a jury, would constitute the war crime of murder, the report found. All the victims were either non-combatants or were no longer combatants, the report finds. A total of 25 perpetrators have been identified either as principals or accessories. Some are still serving in the ADF. In all cases, the report finds it “was or should have been plain that the person killed was a non-combatant”. The vast majority of victims had been captured and were under control, giving them the protection under international law. Brereton has been investigating shocking allegations against elite Australian troops since 2016, when he was tasked with examining dozens of incidents in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. His work involved reviewing 20,000 documents and 25,000 images. His team interviewed 423 witnesses. “We embarked on this inquiry with the hope that we would be able to report that the rumours of war crimes were without substance. None of us desired the outcome to which we have come,” he said. “We are all diminished by it.” Aside from criminal prosecution, his recommendations include paying immediate compensation to victims and their families, revoking the meritorious unit citation to the entire Special Operations Task Group, and potentially cancelling the individual medals for those concerned.

I expect that these war criminals will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. General Angus Campbell, the head of the Australian Defence Force, has indicated that he has accepted all of the report's findings and has announced a comprehensive action plan to address all of the report's 143 recommendations. He has also apologised to the people of Afghanistan.

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Donald J. Trump Presidential Library

What will it look like?

I wonder if these Presidential repositories hold social media activity. There's already a spoof Donald Trump Presidential Twitter Library but no word on whether the real thing will do it.

Art of the Deal, Think Like a Champion, All Quiet On the Western Front, apparently one of his favorite books he didn't write.

Maybe a couple of his photographs as president, Fox News and OANN memorabilia, perhaps a kiosk next to the front door that sells MAGA items.

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Don't be Black in our White Neighbourhood

This could equally be in the Humour section - a crazy white woman exemplifying racism in one short video.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b1724705.html

You just have to love that last comment.

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Cancel student loan debt?

With the renewed conversation starting with Biden's incoming administration, what do you all feel about the push for 50k in student loan forgiveness being proposed by the progressive side of the party? To be clear this is being advertised as being possible by executive order, not any act of the legislative branch.

I'll start off by saying I hate both aspects of this. Such a large fiscal action by Presidential decree seems like a very bad idea. It does not seem to be a good use of political capital at all. I could be ignorant but I can't think of anything that matches that amount attempted in the past by a President.

Beyond the mechanism, I just think it is terrible policy. Helping those most capable and financially able to incur the costs does not even seem like a progressive idea to me. None of the purported benefits seem to amount to much beyond increased costs of those that weren't financially prudent. The attempt to attach this to racial inequality are especially weak, not to get into the incredibly stupid trolley meme making the rounds.

Of all the progressive policies being put forward, this might be the one I am most adamantly against. To be clear I would not personally be affected, as I only went to community college for a few semesters and incurred no debt, but the very idea is just beyond my understanding. The broad brush approach is the worst idea, and the framing of it as most benefiting minorities is disingenuous at best.

So.. thoughts?

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The Poisoned Chalice of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Seriously, the committee has turned the Nobel peace Prize into a laughing-stock.

Abiy Ahmed, 2019: https://time.com/5910962/abiy-ahmed-ethiopia-conflict/

Barack Obama: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.co...ikes-than-bush

Al Gore? Not a murderer, but what the hell did he have to do with peace? One movie that was dubiously sourced and made zero difference.

The deeply hideous Aung San Suu Kyi: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11685977

The equally-hideous "Saint" Teresa of Kolkata: (I know nobody needs the link, but it's Hitch, so you get it anyway.)

Words fail me on Henry Kissinger, just as they did in 1973.

The United Nations? No joke - the UN actually won it in 2001, a neat couple of months after the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Trump would not even be close to the worst person awarded one if they'd thrown it his way.

Certainly, there have been some worthy winners, but when the pot is poisoned by the above list, it becomes an object of derision rather than praise and should now cease to exist. Give the money to Medicine, Chemistry, or at least something useful.

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The Marjorie Taylor Greene thread.

She is the Qanon Conspiracy supporter who was elected to the House from Georgia.
She is off to a great start.
Engaged in a fight with one of most powerful GOP House leaders;
Attacked Mask wearing and said she would not wear one even if House rules require it
And when Kevin McCarthy, House GOP leader said she had renounced the Qanon conspiracy thoery, she quickly denied that.
And much more to follow no doubt.
Guaranteed, the GOP House leadership will hate her a lot more then the Dems will as she becomes a major league embarassment to the party and no doubt will constantly attack the GOP House leaderhsip as being RINOs and Traitors.

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New phone, serious upgrade.

Moved up from an Andy6 phone to a new Andy9 due to impending battery fail. Both off brands but trusted for time in the market.

Finally it had permissions adjustment for all apps including Google stuff.

Google Play no longer has access to much of anything including the camera and microphone. Only the phone has access to contacts. MSG has access to absolutely nothing so maybe I finally killed push messages? I can hope.

The phone works fine as a handheld compu which is my main reason to have one.
It even switched over all my contacts intact, a first for that.

Andy pie is indistinguishable from Andy6 as an user interface. I really like that. I didn't have to relearn the entire thing again.

All in all well worth the money. The memory upgrade is a huge bonus too. The old 8G phone worked, mostly, this 32G version just glides through page loads.

I just have to figure out what Google Go does to know if it lives or dies. No harm in killing Google Play and it reduces data usage greatly.

Hats off to ZTE for finally getting a good software package in one.

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Koch Brother Admits Screwing Up

Quote:

Charles Koch Regrets His Partisanship: 'Boy, Did We Screw Up!' GOP mega-donor Charles Koch said he regrets his decades of partisanship and now wants to focus on bridging the political divide, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. In an interview shortly before the election, the 85-year-old libertarian tycoon told the newspaper that after funding conservative causes, he is turning his attention to issues like poverty, addiction, gang violence, homelessness and recidivism.

Um... Well... Better super late than never, I suppose.

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2024 Republican Primary

Since election campaigns start earlier every cycle, why not speculate on who will throw their hat into the ring for the Republicans in 2024. Here's my list. some are serious, some are half-joking.

Donald Trump - Socialite turned game show host who lost the 2020 election¹
Tom Cotton - Senator from Arkansas. Seems to be more focused on trolling the libs than actually governing. One top two contestants to be 2024's Scott Walker.
Jeff Flake - former Senator from Arizona. Graduate of the Susan Collins School of Furrowing Brows.
Larry Hogan - Governor of Maryland. acted responsibly in the face of COVID-19 and now looking to leverage that into being humiliated on the national stage.
Ben Sasse - Senator from Nebraska. Other top contender to be 2024's Scott Walker.
Nikki Hayler - former Governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the UN. Mortgaged promising political future to suck up to a game show host.
Ted Cruz - Senator from Texas. Also voted Most Punchable Face in Politics. Rumored to be the Zodiac Killer.
Marco Rubio - Senator from Florida with no dignity.
Rand Paul - Senator from Kentucky who cosplays as a doctor and earned a beating from his neighbor.
Tim Scott - Senator from South Carolina who is shocked every time people point out the overt racism of the Trumplicans
Some member of the Bush family - because we all need a good laugh
One of the Trump kids - assuming daddy doesn't run ¹
Tucker Carlson - Host of the FOX News White Power Hour and poster child for Unearned White Boy Confidence.

Anyone I missed?

¹ assuming he is not already residing in a different kind of government housing

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Help

Ok, 1st o @ll excuse my spelling, I spilt rink on my l@ptop n some o my keys won't work New usb keybo@r @rriving tomorrow:)
I've been looking @t @ repl@cement or my ol l@ptop L@ptops @re pretty expensive with ecent storge & I've seen some che@pish @ll in ones
I on't nee @nything too powerul, I only re@lly use it on the net & pl@ying my music iles
Currys h@ve some che@p @ll in ones with 1tb stor@ge which woul be plenty or my nees Woul you think @n @ll in one woul be ok or p@y more or @ l@ptop?
Port@bility not @n issue, but not the sp@ce or @ whole esktop system

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Million Maga March on DC Saturday..

The Usual suspects, including Alex Jones.

[url]https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-ne-proud-boys-leader-downplays-coup-20201112-hcwnvrdolfa4tkdwtk46cqgwaa-story.html{/url]

I think the main aim of this is to provoke a response from cunterdemonstrators, provoking violence. I hope the BLM and others will not take the pain, but the chances of that are low.

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A murder on our street!

Well, the street we back on to!

A two year old girl was taken to hospital yesterday morning with 'Critical Injuries'
We had the air ambulance, 2 road ambulances, 3 police cars and a van.

Police arrested a 26 year old man and Scenes of Crime were there all day and the place is still taped off.

The girl died in hospital and the man has been charged with murder.

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/t...arske-19265793

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300,000 BCE Ben G Thomas subscribers special

The Earth 300,000 Years Ago | 300,000 Subscribers Special
I have been subscribed to and watching Ben G Thomas' YouTube channel for years now, but this newest video he made seems rather far fetched indeed.

[yt]sDPQum7n55g[/yt]

African populations of Neanderthals? @26:30 ????? Come again? That's a claim that certainly needs heavily supported since the general consensus is that Neanderthals never had any populations in Africa! Where is the evidence for this bold claim? At first I just thought he misspoke accidently saying the wrong continent. But then he doubled down at @27:20 claiming by this time Neanderthals migrated out of Africa and spread to Eurasia! What???? Neanderthals originated in Africa and migrated to Eurasia? :jaw-dropp Come again again???? Where is this evidence???? Then again a third bold claim that I am almost certain has no evidence at all: Denisovans migrated out of Africa at about the same time as Neanderthals????? WOW talk about pure speculation! Who is the "we" in the claim he makes about "we think"???? I can't even find anyone even remotely making claims anywhere close to this, so where is this controversy he talks about in the scientific literature?

I have always been impressed with this channel, but maybe naively? Because this certainly sounds almost as ridiculous as any YEC argument to be!

Is there anyone here that can support his claims at all?

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Banana Republican Party

I have, up to now, refrained form calling Republicans by the various names that have been somewhat popular here and elsewhere, e.g. repugnican, rethuglican, and so on.

However, I have come up with a name that, in light of recent events, I think is entirely appropriate. It's the thread title. It would stroke my ego a bit if it catches on, but, if not, I can live with it. Trump is acting like a Banana Republic Presidente who, after losing an election, engineers a coup to hold power. I wonder if he somehow succseeds in destroying American democracy (such as it is), if he will, like Louis Napolen Bonaparte (Napolean III), declare himself emperor after losing an election and engineering a coup to hold power. To make matters worse, most Banana Republicans in Congress are going along with it. I remember when, during the Watergate scandal, Republican senators told Nixon that if he didn't resign, he would be impeached and removed. This surely contributed to their party losing big in the next election, and I'm sure they knew this would be the case when they did that. Contrast that with the current Banana Republican Party, who with only a few exceptions, have gone along with Trump's bull ****. From here on out, I will know that any Banana Republican who claims to support the Constitution is lying. Will I ever vote for a Banana Republican again? Maybe, in 20 years, if I'm still alive and they can show me that they have changed enough to deserve another chance. Until then I don't care if the Democratic Party candidate is an confessed child molester, better a child molester than a Banana Republican.

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Isidewith

I'm sure that many of you will have heard of this, but it's a great website where you answer a quiz about politics and it gives you a score for each political party for how closely you align with their views. It has quizzes for loads of different countries too, so you can see who you would align with in your own country, or check against another country to see which party you would support there!

I just took the USA quiz and got the results of how closely I align with the various political parties over across the pond.



Take the test yourself, I'm curious to see what people here get.

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Don't be a sissy1 Die of Covid like a man!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...mments-wrapper

The man is batcrap crazy, period.
And anybody else note that "Macho" is often just anoither five letter word for "Idiot"?

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Don't be a sissy1 Die of Covid like a man!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...mments-wrapper

The man is batcrap crazy, period.
And anybody else note that "Macho" is often just anoither five letter word for "Idiot"?

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Oregon decriminalizes hard drugs like heroin and cocaine

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Denver Channel The state of Oregon became the first in the nation to decriminalize small amounts of hard drugs like heroin and cocaine by overwhelmingly passing Measure 110 on Tuesday. According to The Oregonian, the measure will reduce misdemeanor drug possession to a non-criminal violation, punishable by measures similar to a traffic stop. Violators will be given a ticket and a $100 fine, or be given the option of being screened for a subtance abuse disorder. Those found with larger amounts of drugs, who would have previously been charged with a felony, will now face a misdemeanor charge. The measure also redirects tax revenue from the sale of legal marijuana in the state toward Addiction Recover Centers, where people are screened for drug use and can also receive treatment for drug addiction...

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...in-and-cocaine

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Conspiraacy, Trump and Jesus.

I'm absolutely sure I'm late to the party here, but something just clicked for me about conspiracy theory mindset.

Specifically, I've been thinking about all of these election conspiracy theories pumped out by Trump and his supporters.

• The ballots were secretly watermarked in a sting operation. Trump will spring the trap and arrest the fraudsters soon.

• We have all of the damning witnesses who can provide proof they saw voting fraud. Thir evidence will be revealed soon.

And so on.

And I start to think. What happens when "soon" passes and nothing comes of it. Won't the people be dissappointed and turn against them? Isn't lying about "soon" a terrible tactic, because you would lose trust when you didn't deliver.

But then of course, looking back over Trump's term and time in the spotlight.

• Healthcare plan that preserves pre-existing conditions, better than ACA. Soon!

• We'll build that wall! Soon!

• I'll release my taxes. Soon!

• We're going to put the pedophile Clintons in jail. Soon!

• We're going to release damning proof Obama was born in Kenya. Soon!

And on and on and on.And the same from his supporters self constructed theories. Sometimes it's more than soon. Sometimes it's a specific time frame that comes and goes without the promised result.

Now of course, Trump is not unique for being a politician who doesn't deliver. But the frequency and specificity and confidence in the promises, paired with how far they're divorced from reality is just something else. And his support stays so ardent.

I asked myself, who could take being promised "soon" with a lie over and over and over and still line up with faith? Why does Charlie Brown keep lining up to kick the football Lucy is holding when she pulls it away every time?

The messiah is coming soon.

Jesus was coming back soon 2000 years ago. Every generation since then has been sure it's just about to happen. (Sure, this doesn't apply to every Christian, but there's no shortage of those that hold this).

The lubavitcher jews are certain the messiah will come any moment now.

There is a deep religious mindset hat seems immune to a failed prediction or a broken promise.

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Trump's Coup d'état.

Someone wanted it, so here it is.

We already have republiloons behaving like their fuhrer won second term, screaming unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and peddling ridiculous conspiracy theories. Crazies send death threats to officials involved in elections. What's next?

Coup is logical endgame for wanna-be authoritarian party working hard on removing "wanna-be" part.

How likely it is? Why they would do that right now, just for Trump? If it happens, how republicans would pull it off (literal military coup, SCOTUS shenanigans, something else)? What reaction it would cause? How it all ends?
Or maybe it is just ploy for those two last senate seats in Georgia and nothing serious comes out of it?

Note that while SCOTUS giving presidency to Trump technically is not coup*, nevertheless it is within topic of this thread, since a lot of people would consider it coup and transformation of USA into rightwing authoritarian state.

* According to certain local rethuglicans here, so take it with entire moon of salt.

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Orange Split

Great minds post about ideas, middling minds about events, small minds about people, and the really puny ones about salacious speculations about possible future events in people's lives. Some past FLOTUS apparently believed, and said, something like that.

So, for like-minded puny folks that've found their way to this cerebral forum, here's the (current) FLOTUS-POTUS divorce thread. She's counting the minutes, apparently.

(Speculations and tasteless jokes welcome, obviously. And the great minds here needn't feel left out: you can always chip in with snippets about the evolution of marriage and divorce, and the philosophical underpinnings of transactional relationships, and things like that.)

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Strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike

Two things I don't get about the "strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike" lady's show...

How does "I hear the sound of an abundance of rain" fit into the theme she was going for? Is there a Bible verse in which abundant rain was somehow associated with God doing a miracle to give his people a victory?

What did that guy in a T-shirt, walking by behind her with papers in his hands and a jacket or something like that draped over his arm, have to do with it? Is having people randomly wandering around on stage a part of the standard repertoire for megachurch chanting shows that I just haven't seen before? Did she just make it up herself? If the former, what's the origin? A re-enactment of a famous time somebody kept preaching while the venue was about to close and there were workers preparing to shut it all down & go home?

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Republican Party schism?

Between the establishment and Trumpers, of course. No poll or anything just idle speculation.
Trump will NEVER willingly let go his hold on the party. Will the party let go of him? Obviously many of his fervent supporters will not; will think him more important than the party. But the establishment may -- should -- begin to see him as harming their interests. As an embarrassment. Even, in some cases, as wrong!
In our primary election, multiple conservatives listed themselves as "Prefers Trump Republican Party." (Our primary system is weird.) Clearly to them, Trump is more important than party. But then there is The Lincoln Project, a bunch of Republicans opposed to Trump. Do they represent the establishment? I dunno.
George W Bush has congratulated Biden on his victory. Lindsey Graham, who 5 years ago said that nominating Trump would destroy the party, is still supporting Trump. Changing demographics do NOT support Trump. What is the Republican Party, the party I grew up in, to do?
If Trump sees the party establishment abandoning him, he'll fire them first. And certainly want to establish his own part. What then?

Again, random speculations. And I'm probably giving the R establishment more credit than it deserves. Thoughts?

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When will Trump concede?

When will Trump concede the 2020 presidential race, or else be rendered permanently incapable of doing so?

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Sweating sickness1485 - 1551 and gaslanets same area

Do you find what the summers were like in the history books from 1485 onwards for about 8 years?

Especially the summers from 1485 to 1487 😀

The effects of all the gas planets hit mid-summer, the same time we are in the area between the Sun and the supermassive object in the center of the galaxy.

😀

PHEW.

Here it is already a coincidence, hah hah

Sweating sickness, also known as the sweats, English sweating sickness or English sweat or (Latin) sudor anglicus, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. 1551, after which the disease apparently Vanished.The Onset of symptoms was Sudden, with death often occurring within hours.Sweating sickness epidemics were unique compared to other disease outbreaks of the time [1] Where other epidemics were typically urban and long-lasting , cases of sweating sickness spiked and receded very quickly and Heavily affected rural populations. [1] Its cause remains unknown, although it has been Suggested that an unknown species of hantavirus was responsible. "

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

PHEW

😀

Sweating.

And I google with the words 1485 - 1487 hot Summers.

And I anticipate 8 years ahead of 1485.

Sweating did not disappear in 1551.

That is, Jupiter made it to that area for the second time, and only then did the influence of Jupiter and Saturn wane, and 10 years later that Uranus also got out of that area.

😮

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Allegations of Fraud in 2020 US Election

I think we should have a thread specifically about voter fraud, or election fraud in general, in the recently completed 2020 election.

One of the benefits of the JREF, and we continue that legacy, was the way it critically examined claims and debunked false ones. The important part was not merely the debunking, but also educating the people reading about it in the way that false claims were made, spread, and ultimately debunked. In some cases, that did not mean a complete and total debunking. Some of the most effective nonsense is spread by mixing it in with a kernel of truth.

So, I think we should have a dedicated thread for allegations of vote fraud where we can cite examples, and present evidence that shows whether it did or did not happen, and also explore sources and examine ways in which the allegations are spread. This can also serve as a resource for people to find information for off-forum discussions and interests.

Some of this is happening in the general election thread, but that topic is much broader, and is easily diverted every time a new Trump tweet is reported, so I would like to see it discussed here.

So, please, anyone who thinks there is evidence of vote fraud, let's bring it up and we'll see if we can delve into it.

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IPadOS - Issue with Chrome and downloading image files

Bit of a weird one, only on my IPad - running 14.2 (but problem has existed for sometime across different OS versions).

I use a site for downloading assets such as photos. Using Chrome on my iPad when I click on on the download button the image is loaded as an image directly in to a new tab on Chrome (and Edge) so I can view it but then there doesn’t seem to be any way of downloading it to the iPad or even direct sharing the image to another app. But if I use Safari clicking on the download button will pull up a dialogue box that asks do I want to view or download the file, chose download and I can save it where I like.

It’s a real first world annoyance as I use Chrome for all my web based workflow and I have to drop out of Chrome, load up Safari, log into the site then download the file I need, then go back to Chrome to make use of the image.

My deep research (3 google searches) seems to find people with similar problem but no solutions.

Given my extensive research has failed I’m reaching out to the wisdom of crowds....

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Harris as President

When do you think Harris will become President?

This is not to wish the President-Elect any ill luck but given his age something to consider. Also a few of how forum members view Harris as a possible Presidential candiate.

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[Continuation] 2020 Presidential Election part 3

Continuation thread from: http://www.internationalskeptics.com...d.php?t=347718

Posted By:Darat

Quote:

Originally Posted by trustbutverify (Post 13286955) Yet Trump managed to increase his share of the black vote from 2016 levels. I wonder how strong the statistical correlation is between Trumpanzees and Flat Earthers. That would be interesting.

Did he? I'll believe that after a full autopsy of Trump, Ooops, I mean the election has been performed.

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QFS-Blockchain conspiracy

WTF is this?

Apparently there is sting operation of Trump and Intelligence that watermarked all ballots (somehow, don't ask me). Data was provided by "MD, PhD, a highly qualified US government, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and/or Senior Policy Planner under Secretaries Henry Kissinger" Steve Pieczenik.

Hmmm... is it just me or ballots are printed by each state separately?

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Funding the Presidential Transition

I found myself wondering about presidential transitions, and who pays for them. I figured there was probably some sort of cost, and that some or all of that cost was paid for with government money.

I wondered at what point Joe Biden became the official President-Elect of the United States. Much was made today of the fact that TV networks declared Joe Biden President-Elect today, but I figured that probably wasn't the trigger that allowed the money to start flowing. I also wondered if Donald Trump could withhold that money, because that's the sort of thing Donald Trump would do.

I looked it up, and decided to share with you what I found. A few things were interesting.

First, some of the money starts flowing to both major party candidates as soon as they become major party nominees. Candidates are expected to work on certain transition plans before the election, and there is money provided to them for that purpose. It's not a ton of money. It's a few million dollars. I didn't look too deeply to see exactly what they were expected to do with it, or what happens if they didn't do it, or did a lousy job.

I did see that it's a major no-no to use that money for campaign expenditures. However, it is legal to use donated money for transition related expenditures. Some restriction apply, and I didn't read the fine print.

After the election, more money gets released to the President-Elect to fund the transition. It surprisingly little money. I read that it was on the order of 10 million dollars. That doesn't seem like a lot to me, but I wondered exactly when the President-Elect was considered officially the President-Elect, and whether the current President had any say in the matter.

What I found was that the funding is part of the General Services Administration (GSA) budget, and it was under control of the GSA Administrator. That person is currently Emily W. Murphy, and is a political appointee. i.e. Donald Trump appointed her at the beginning of his term, and Joe Biden will appoint a replacement. It's her decision when to let the money start flowing, and she gives it to "the apparent winner". So, it really could be when the networks declare a victor, but it's her judgement.

The President doesn't really have a say in the process, except for that fact that political appointees serve at the pleasure of the President, so if Ms. Murphy declared that Joe Biden was the apparent winner, she would risk the wrath of her boss. On the other hand, what's he going to do? Fire her? She's out of a job in a couple of months anyway.

But she hasn't released the money yet. WAPO had an article today on the subject, that contained this line:

Quote:

Pamela Pennington, a GSA spokeswoman, said that Murphy would ascertain “the apparent successful candidate once a winner is clear based on the process laid out in the Constitution.” Until that decision is made, she said, the Biden transition team would continue to receive limited access to government resources.

So, it sounds like she might be inclined to stonewall a bit on this. Nothing happens in the constitution until some time in mid December. (The 14th?) That's when electors vote,

So, if she is loyal to her boss, she could hamper the efforts of the Biden team to create a smooth transition of poser. Paying attention to when the funds are released might provide some indication of how much Trump will hamper the peaceful transition of power.

It's not a matter of Earth shattering significance, but it was just enough of a separable issue that I thought it would be worthy of its own thread. I know I was interested in it, and I thought others might be as well.

And, I will add, the information from this post comes from a very brief period of google searching, so I would welcome additions or corrections as appropriate.

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How smooth is the surface of a neutron star?

Nothing provocative. No suggesting the "Laws of Physics is wrong. No woo woo whatsoever. This simply is a video explaining how incredibly smooth the surface of a neutron is. From Sixty Symbols https://youtu.be/YfLvuH41sg8

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Where will Trump be on Jan. 20, 2021?

And now for the most important question of the day:

Where in the world is Donald Trump (on Jan 20)?

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The Biden Presidency

OK, I'll start it.

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Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black man

Came across this series on YouTube, well worth watching to get an idea of both sides of the racial divide.

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There are presently 9 of these episodes about topics such as;

White Privilege and White Allergies,
How to teach your kids about race
Reverse Racism
White Parents raising Black Kids
Interracial relationships
Race and Religion
The National Anthem Protests
Police and Black Lives Matter

Each is 10-20 minutes long and well worth it.

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Lame Don predictions

Some speech trump gave recently (I don't remember which), or maybe a short group of tweets with a slightly less berserk & more giving-up tone than they'd been for a while, struck me as if the rage he'd been showing for days was burning him out. Maybe it was just that he was at a certain point in his uppers-downers cycle, but it reminded me of something...

I've gotten the impression that most people expect him to spend the next few months trumping more trumpily than ever, spewing forth a new dense burst of last-minute destroy-everything orders. But I think not; I get the impression that he'll be so depressed & despondent that he'll go strangely, untrumpily quiet, almost like he's trying to hide (which actually might be part of it).

If you're familiar with the video clip from a German movie, portraying Hitler's rage when he realized that it was all over for him, think of not the intense screaming middle bit but the end, when he sits back down and says the last couple of lines with so little energy that his vocal chords barely activate, looking like he'd be crying if he weren't so drained of emotional energy, like he's given up on everything including crying.

We might have already seen the beginning of this withdrawal/retreat, since today was the first whole day of everybody being pretty sure of the results all day, and he doesn't seem to have done or said anything in particular today. So maybe I'm a day late doing this, but at least at this point those who expect more loud trumpy noises from the White House for months can still think either my impression of today is wrong or it's just today and he be back to his usual trumpiness again soon.

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Are Political Polls Reliable?

If polls are not reliable, why not? The most frequently cited answer for why Trump-related polls are unreliable is social desirability bias. There are also potential issues of sampling bias.

Here's a narrative. I'm sure you'll let me know if I'm mis-remembering.

I recall in 2012 Romney was having these huge rallies. People said "no Republican has had a rally like this in Pennsylvania since forever," etc. The NYT's Nate Silver confidently predicted an Obama win. And win Obama did. Silver predicted every single state correctly. The Republicans who thought Romney would win were pilloried by the elite media and Twitter as anti-science, knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers.

Silver became a meme, started his own website, and released a popular book about statistics. Since then I want to say I noticed an uptick among conservatives distrusting polls. "Nobody's ever called me for one of these polls." Another frequent comment became, "I'd never tell a stranger things about my politics or my living situation." Some bragged about lying. In other words, I wonder if conservatives have been socialized into misleading pollsters. I'm inclined to believe these are marginal actors (like with "Operation Chaos"), but I do wonder...

Silver famously pegged Trump's chances of winning in 2016 at 30%. His defenders this election cycle are saying he correctly predicted 48 states (which isn't quite right because he said all of Maine's Electoral Votes would go to Biden).

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Criminal Charges Against Trump

Which charge will be made first, and when?

I have no idea which will be the first one, but I'm picking no charges will be laid until about March 2021.

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Two months of lame duck

Assume Biden wins. Any suggestions about what el orango will do before losing any power on 20 jan?

Besides stealing anything not nailed down, of course.

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Windows 10 bins my printer if its not connected

Long story short, I have two identical commercial printers (Epson SL-D700) attached to a Win 10 64 bit setup. Each has its own icon in "Devices & Printers" and uses a Maintenance Tool (software) for things such as head cleaning & alignment, nozzle checks, paper roll width and surface type changes etc.

Every so often, I have to disconnect one printer and send it away for repair or maintenance. The problem arises when the printer has been disconnected for a few days, its icon disappears from "Devices & Printers" so that when it comes back, the Maintenance Tool cannot find it, and I have to go through the (painful) process of uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers and printer maintenance software, for both printers.

Anyone hear of this sort of thing happening. I mean, an installed printer driver should stay installed unless I uninstall it, right?

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The De-Trumpification of America -- life after the Trump revolution

So it looks like Biden is going to win the election. I know nothing is decided, and that the GOP is attempting to sabotage the election. That's not up for discussion here -- for the purpose of this thread, we assume Biden takes office in January 2021.

So Trump has ruled America for four years. I don't need to list his evils. I don't need to get into how Trump supporters have failed to criticize him for what he's doing, and even chose to voted for him in great numbers this election.

It now seems Trump will be a one-term president. Come January, he will be a civilian, and his cult will no longer have him as president. This begs an important question:

What do we do with the trumpkins?

It's been a long time since I wrote a long, thought-out essay of a post on these forums. I'm sorry if it's a bit lengthy, feel free to just skim through it if it doesn't give you anything. But I have a lot of thoughts and getting them down on paper takes some space, so bear with me.

I suspect that when Trump leaves office, it will be as if a spell is broken. The Trump supporters went silent for a time after the midterm election. The same thing happened during the election America just had -- they surfaced when Biden appeared to be struggling, only to disappear again once it became clear Biden was set to win. I think what makes Trump so attractive to an alarming number of people is his ability to make them feel like they're part of this huge, powerful, for lack of a better word rebellious movement, which terrified the liberal elite. He's like that one tough, burly kid who certain other boys flock to because he makes them feel like they're part of this menacing "gang" when they roam the streets, or hang around at street corners.

Once he loses the election, he will be a "loser" in their eyes. The strongman will have lost that image. Even if he tweets all day long just as he did before, he'll be tweeting as a defeated man who faces bankrupcy, lawsuits, and charges. Even throughout 2020, his rallies drew fewer followers. I think the Trumpers will simply go quiet about him once he's out of office. I don't know if they will drop the whataboutism-centered control the conversation style of tackling critics, and it's possible they'll be just as bitter and unhappy about the way the country's going and how the elite is ignoring them (many with good reason), and they may be resentful if they subscribe to Trump's narrative about the Democrats stealing the election, but they'll go quiet as Trump supporters.

So. What do we do about them?

Firstly, the US has really seen two protest movements arise in anger the past four years -- the Trump supporters and the BLM-led protesters. Both arose because their very real issues weren't being listened to. The blacks saw themselves grow up with police brutality, institutionalised racism, and far less opportunity than the white people, and even as other US minorities. As Michelle Obama put it in her memoir, "you have to work twice as hard to get half as far" as an African-American. Meanwhile there's a class of low-income people, many of them white, who do not see the problems of their communities addressed, and even experience that they are not only ignored by "the elite", but that they are even looked down upon and ridiculed by the rest of the country. You know who I'm talking about. Rednecks. Hillbillies. Trailer trash. They are to be pitied and looked down upon, turned into an archetypical character to serve as the butt of jokes.

Both rose up in 2016. With the African-American community, their patience didn't truly run out until 2020, but they rose up. The trumpkins elected a president who they felt, sadly mistakenly, listened to them and cared about their plight. Someone who was just as corrupt as the rest of the establishment, but was at least aware of it and pledged to drain the swamp. Maybe that was even part of his appeal. That they believed it took a thief to catch a thief. The African-Americans, meanwhile, took to the streets in record numbers, not all of them peacefully.

What they have in common is a very real experience of growing up in a country with little social mobility, with far less opportunity than many others in the country of the same age, through no fault of their own. And they both rose up.

Now the Trump rebellion seems to have been struck down. The revolution is over. The leader, the face of the revolution, has been defeated. But maybe it isn't as much about whether the "trumpkins" will go away. Maybe the important part is their reasons for rising up certainly are not. And the sad part is, even as rebels, the Trump supporters were still ridiculed and looked down upon. That's not going to change now. The archetypical Trump supporter might end up the laughing stock of the nation for a while. Imagine how humiliating that must feel.

I think maybe the most important thing going forward is addressing these social issues. The need for sweeping police and justice system reforms. Racism on every level of society. The plight of those growing up less privilegued in America, be them black or white, or anything in-between. Future politicians must demonstrate that they respect, and care about, the people who feel they've been ignored by the elite for far too long. Because no matter how much you disagree with their methods, there's always reasons why people rise up.

I think Trump needs to be prosecuted for what he has done, even if doing so will be painful for the nation here and now, because the US is a free country which should not put up with corruption and evil, and letting Trump get off sets a very dangerous precedent for the next Trump lurking in the shadows. I also don't know if everyone who lost their friendships in 2016 should try to reconcile, because with some political views, it's just not possible to forgive and forget.

I do think, however, that it's important to reach out to the Trump supporters. When we discuss, for example, creationism or CTs here, we tend to actually address the CTers' and Creationists' arguments and claims, with facts and reason. I think that's also the way to go with Trump supporters. I myself have had a tendency to just decide they're all trolls, call them out on their whataboutisms and general unwillingness to have a proper discussion, and then to my ignore list, lamening that everyone else won't just do the same.

I think that was wrong of me. Sure, oftentimes they were just trolling, or trying to derail the thread. You've got characters like that in every sub-forum. But I think Trump supporters in general benefit more from people who disagree with them actually educating them with facts, and explaining to them how they're wrong. And, most of all, understanding the underlying reasons for their support of Trump, be them good or bad. A lot of them support pretty horrible things, and a lot of them come across as downright terrible people. But they, and their plight, has also been used, manipulated, and lied to by Trump.

I'm reminded of the video game Night in the Woods, a role-playing game where you're playing as Mae Borowski, a teen who has to drop out of college due to some serious personal issues, and returns to a town that's crumbling after the steel mill shut down. The whole game, which I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone into games with an emphasis on great storytelling, is an exploration of life without opportunity or hope, be it for yourself and your neighbours, or for the town you're growing up in. I won't spoil details here, but suffice to say it's a very authentic and heart-felt game with great insight.

My point is, I can't help but think that if they made a Night in the Woods 2, where Trump had been elected and the steel mill had been reopened, where the town thrived again and adults had hope for themselves and Possum Springs... if Mae might not, despite herself, be tempted to vote for him.

So. What are your thoughts on healing the divide, and moving on from the failed Trump revolution?

I also want to share these reflections by Beau of the Fifth Coloum, who has some good points:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz_z...theFifthColumn

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