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mercredi 31 mai 2023
mardi 30 mai 2023
Remember Tara Reade, Biden's sexual assault accuser? You'll find her now in Russia.
Yes, Russia, where she has defected.
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/statu...22433029623808
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/statu...29228678717441
You may also remember Maria Butina for being convicted as a Russian agent who funneled money to the GQP.
Anyone who believed Reade's accusations want to defend her now?
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/statu...22433029623808
Quote:
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US citizen Tara Reade, Kremlin agent who falsely accused President Biden of sexual assault in 2020 has defected to Russia. She is holding a press conference in Moscow right now. |
Quote:
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American traitor and Kremlin agent Tara Reade is being interviewed by convicted Russian spy Maria Butina on Russian TV. Tara Reade was recruited by Russia to discredit President Biden in the 2020 election. |
Anyone who believed Reade's accusations want to defend her now?
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lundi 29 mai 2023
Craters on the Moon? Who Knew?
At least it was not a hardware problem.
Japanese moon spaceship software confused by crater
Needs a human in the loop?
Japanese moon spaceship software confused by crater
Quote:
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Apparently, while trying to land, the spaceship went into free-fall from five kilometres up and created a new crater on the moon. It was all down to a last-minute decision to the touchdown location to a crater. The crater's steep sides confused the onboard software because it did not really expect them to be there. |
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Chester Weger and the Starved Rock Murders
This case came up in a death penalty thread, starting at comment #203. Since that time a hair found in the hand of one of the victims was tested, and the DNA profile did not match Mr. Weger. "A DNA test that showed a hair found on a gloved hand of Murphy was from an unidentified man." Chicago Sun Times.
"The hair wasn’t the totality of DNA testing Weger and Hale had hoped for. Last November, according to court records, a judge approved Hale’s request to DNA test eight pieces of evidence from the crime scene including hairs found on the women’s hands and the floor of the cave, twine, and cigarette butts. All but one were not testable, according to the report from the Virginia testing company Bode Technology. The only testable bit of evidence was a hair found on the left index finger of Murphy’s glove, the same hand where authorities said her fingertip had been cut off and never recovered. “Chester Weger is excluded as a possible contributor of the DNA profile obtained from sample,” the report states." Rolling Stone
I am nearly 100% certain that the bloody fingermarks at the crime scene did not match Mr. Weger. I don't have time to say much more today, but I hope to come back later.
"The hair wasn’t the totality of DNA testing Weger and Hale had hoped for. Last November, according to court records, a judge approved Hale’s request to DNA test eight pieces of evidence from the crime scene including hairs found on the women’s hands and the floor of the cave, twine, and cigarette butts. All but one were not testable, according to the report from the Virginia testing company Bode Technology. The only testable bit of evidence was a hair found on the left index finger of Murphy’s glove, the same hand where authorities said her fingertip had been cut off and never recovered. “Chester Weger is excluded as a possible contributor of the DNA profile obtained from sample,” the report states." Rolling Stone
I am nearly 100% certain that the bloody fingermarks at the crime scene did not match Mr. Weger. I don't have time to say much more today, but I hope to come back later.
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[Split Thread] Similarities & differences between extreme right & left
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by TurkeysGhost (Post 14078355)
From my limited perspective consuming left media, including a bit of very alternative, fringey media, there's definitely a small but vocal contigent of US lefties that have a very reductive view of foreign affairs where any anti-US force is good, no matter what. Lots of apologism for Russia, for example, because they are standing up to NATO so they must be good.
There's definitely some really fringe alt-media on the left that take very esoteric views of the world that includes stanning for authoritarian regimes just because they happen to be a thorn in the capitalist West's side. There's also the known path of edgelord lefties to eventually become out and out fascists. Things can get pretty weird out in the ideological hinterlands. |
.
.
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samedi 27 mai 2023
Happy 100th birthday, Henry Kissinger, you rat ass old bastard!
They say that only the good die young, which is why this piece of **** war criminal has survived 100 trips around the Sun. Here's to you dropping dead soon, you filthy ************!
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Philip Schofield: 'Brave' or 'Outrageous'..?
Philip Schofield, TV presenter of a morning breakfast show on ITV, came out 'gay' in Feb 2020, aged 57, and after 27-years of marriage and two daughters.
BBC Feb 2020
He has now 'stood down' and resigned from ITV completely because it turns out he had a relationship with a young staffer, for whom he'd got the job, although Schofield claims he didn't have sex with him until he was 18 although they first became friends when the boy was twelve and after he'd got the job, not before. The ITV executives claim he lied to them about having the relationship with the teenager.
GUARDIAN 27 May 2023.
Not that I am interested in vapid flibbertigibbet showbiz luvvies, what intrigues me about this case is how Schofield was described as 'brave' when he came out gay, left his wife and had an affair with a young intern at his workplace.
Yet when Prince Andrew allegedly had sex with a woman of a similar age he is described as a creepy paedophile. She was 17 in 2000 and Andrew 40 years old, so far less and age gap than Schofield and his 18-year-old. Who believes Schofield 'only had sex when he was 18', and thus legal? 39 years difference for Schofield, 23 for Andrew.
LBC
Why is one supposedly to be congratulated whilst the other is deemed outrageous?
Quote:
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"All you can be in your life is honest with yourself and I was getting to the point where I knew I wasn't honest with myself. I was getting to the point where I didn't like myself very much because I wasn't being honest with myself. "[Coming out] is my decision. This is absolutely my decision. It was something I knew that I had to do. I don't know what the world will be like now. I don't know how this will be taken or what people will think." But Schofield said he is not ready yet for a relationship with a man. |
He has now 'stood down' and resigned from ITV completely because it turns out he had a relationship with a young staffer, for whom he'd got the job, although Schofield claims he didn't have sex with him until he was 18 although they first became friends when the boy was twelve and after he'd got the job, not before. The ITV executives claim he lied to them about having the relationship with the teenager.
Quote:
|
On Friday, Schofield told the Daily Mail he had a “consensual on-off relationship” that was “unwise, but not illegal”. He admitted that it had happened when he was married to his wife of 30 years, Stephanie Lowe. He said: “In an effort to protect my ex-colleague, I haven’t been truthful about the relationship. “But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now. “I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife. |
Not that I am interested in vapid flibbertigibbet showbiz luvvies, what intrigues me about this case is how Schofield was described as 'brave' when he came out gay, left his wife and had an affair with a young intern at his workplace.
Yet when Prince Andrew allegedly had sex with a woman of a similar age he is described as a creepy paedophile. She was 17 in 2000 and Andrew 40 years old, so far less and age gap than Schofield and his 18-year-old. Who believes Schofield 'only had sex when he was 18', and thus legal? 39 years difference for Schofield, 23 for Andrew.
Quote:
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Lawyers have accused Prince Andrew of engaging in "extreme and outrageous conduct" with Virginia Giuffre as part of the latest court battle involving the royal. Describing his actions as "continuous and severe", the Duke of York is alleged to have had sex with Ms Giuffre three times when she was 17 and became a victim at the hands of late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. |
Why is one supposedly to be congratulated whilst the other is deemed outrageous?
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The GOP: Cycle or Spiral?
I get the impression most liberals around here believe the GOP owns a one way ticket to self-immolation. While that may be true, they've hit rock bottom before and stepped back from the brink, as in the Mccarthy era.
On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that Trumpism -- or some firm of extremism -- was inevitable. That they were on a kind of predictable downward spiral at least since the Tea Party, maybe since Reagan, and possibly even earlier -- the Southern Strategy.
So two questions for the thread: was Trumpism (or some form of extremism taking over the party) inevitable? And are they at present on an irreversible downward spiral, or is this just a low point in the cycle?
On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that Trumpism -- or some firm of extremism -- was inevitable. That they were on a kind of predictable downward spiral at least since the Tea Party, maybe since Reagan, and possibly even earlier -- the Southern Strategy.
So two questions for the thread: was Trumpism (or some form of extremism taking over the party) inevitable? And are they at present on an irreversible downward spiral, or is this just a low point in the cycle?
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Infinity!!!
Christian and other apologists and casuists keep telling us that infinity is a nonsense concept that is not in reality.
Of course they do this in the context of trying to cobble together coherent apologetics and sophistry for their gods.
As is usually the case with apologetics... ironically and risibly... the very apologists who keep harping on how infinity is nonsense in order to "prove" their gods... turn around and start brandishing infinity when it comes to denying indeterminism in order to keep their gods in the game
The concept of indeterminism threatens the coherence of any god concepts.... "god does not play dice".
So what to do?
Deny randomness and indeterminism.
Unfortunately REALITY shows their denials of randomness and indeterminism are as delusional as their affirmations for their gods.
So what to do?
Cajole and coerce reality into submission.
So now they start brandishing infinity to argue that infinite tosses of a coin will converge onto a deterministic coin toss.
Or that an infinite amount of knowledge about the all but infinite state of the universe would allow "one" to determine everything.
Who is this "one"? Humans? Deep Thought Computer? Slartibartfast? Q? The Borg Queen?
Of course not.... despite the dissimulations and pretenses that they are not talking about their god.... they know the truth... and all is right for the night and they can sleep tight with the satisfaction that they beat reality into submission to their infinitely powerful and infinitely prescient and infinitely amazing gods.
Of course they do this in the context of trying to cobble together coherent apologetics and sophistry for their gods.
As is usually the case with apologetics... ironically and risibly... the very apologists who keep harping on how infinity is nonsense in order to "prove" their gods... turn around and start brandishing infinity when it comes to denying indeterminism in order to keep their gods in the game
The concept of indeterminism threatens the coherence of any god concepts.... "god does not play dice".
So what to do?
Deny randomness and indeterminism.
Unfortunately REALITY shows their denials of randomness and indeterminism are as delusional as their affirmations for their gods.
So what to do?
Cajole and coerce reality into submission.
So now they start brandishing infinity to argue that infinite tosses of a coin will converge onto a deterministic coin toss.
Or that an infinite amount of knowledge about the all but infinite state of the universe would allow "one" to determine everything.
Who is this "one"? Humans? Deep Thought Computer? Slartibartfast? Q? The Borg Queen?
Of course not.... despite the dissimulations and pretenses that they are not talking about their god.... they know the truth... and all is right for the night and they can sleep tight with the satisfaction that they beat reality into submission to their infinitely powerful and infinitely prescient and infinitely amazing gods.
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vendredi 26 mai 2023
The Countdown begins.......
Yellin just set June 5th as when the US Government will run out of money and,unless the debt ceiling is raised, will default.
With the Freedumb Causus in the House having just killed a potential deal, I think the idea is to lighe a fire under some people. Don't know if that will work this time.
And McCarthy's survival as speaker is in doubt.
With the Freedumb Causus in the House having just killed a potential deal, I think the idea is to lighe a fire under some people. Don't know if that will work this time.
And McCarthy's survival as speaker is in doubt.
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jeudi 25 mai 2023
CNN does it again.....
Announced a GOP Town Meeting with Mike Pence June.
After all, went so well the last time.......
God, Chris Licht is an idiot . Lets of the same exact thing in the same exact way and somehow hope for different results.
All it will result in is MSNBC getting even more new viewers.
BTW I suspect Pence is a sloppy second; I think they wanted De Santis but De Santis is simply not making any appreances on mainstream media; he is even not making any appreances outside of news footage with Fox.
After all, went so well the last time.......
God, Chris Licht is an idiot . Lets of the same exact thing in the same exact way and somehow hope for different results.
All it will result in is MSNBC getting even more new viewers.
BTW I suspect Pence is a sloppy second; I think they wanted De Santis but De Santis is simply not making any appreances on mainstream media; he is even not making any appreances outside of news footage with Fox.
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Supreme Court unanimously rejects EPA rule on water bodies
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sup...animous-ruling
The supreme Court unanimously ruled against the EPA regarding their regulations upon wetlands that do not permanently connect to navigable water bodies. The EPA and the Biden administration wanted to be able to regulate small wetlands that are clearly not part of the navigable Waters of the United States. But this is clearly a violation of the intent of the clean water act, and everyone in the supreme Court agreed. The clean water act allows the federal government to protect and regulate all navigable water bodies in the United States, and water bodies that connect to them on a regular basis. Wetlands that only connect to such bodies when there is a large flood, but normally are independent, are not under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
The supreme Court unanimously ruled against the EPA regarding their regulations upon wetlands that do not permanently connect to navigable water bodies. The EPA and the Biden administration wanted to be able to regulate small wetlands that are clearly not part of the navigable Waters of the United States. But this is clearly a violation of the intent of the clean water act, and everyone in the supreme Court agreed. The clean water act allows the federal government to protect and regulate all navigable water bodies in the United States, and water bodies that connect to them on a regular basis. Wetlands that only connect to such bodies when there is a large flood, but normally are independent, are not under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
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Car crashes into Downing Street gates
I'm seeing reports that a car has crashed into the gates of Downing Street & it's currently under lockdown. I haven't seen any details yet except one picture that shows the car didn't make it through the gate (unsurprisingly).
It's yet to be announced if, on hearing they were going into lockdown, any Downing Street workers were trampled in the rush for the wine fridge.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65714508
It's yet to be announced if, on hearing they were going into lockdown, any Downing Street workers were trampled in the rush for the wine fridge.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65714508
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The Minnesota Miracle - the positive case for voting D
Quote:
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When Minnesota Democrats won back the majority in the state Senate last fall, they achieved the dream: a trifecta of control across the Legislature and the governor's office. They weren't the only ones. Democrats did the same in Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan, whereas Republicans failed to nab any new trifecta in the 2022 elections. But it's Minnesota that's attracting attention as a laboratory for how to effectively use that power to achieve progressive policy priorities. ... “It’s really important to have a laboratory,” said Kari Moe, a Democratic consultant who was a chief of staff to Paul Wellstone, the late senator from Minnesota who was an icon for progressives. “It says: We can pass legislation that seems a bridge too far in other states. And it’s especially valuable for a state like Minnesota,” she said. “We’re not Massachusetts. Minnesota is still in many ways culturally as a whole state very moderate.” Comparing Minnesota to Michigan — another state where Democrats have regained a trifecta — Moe said the Minnesota agenda has been “more far-reaching than any other states that have Democratic trifectas right now.” “They’ve identified all the right issues, every single one, where they need to move,” she said. “And then they moved on them.” |
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mercredi 24 mai 2023
Civil Proof: Jack Daniels on the Rocks
A bit of overreach by Jack Daniels has felt the cold hand of leagal reality on its shoulder:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65695647
Long story short: US distiller of whiskey claims that Scottish whisky marketed on the basis of two very popular Scottish comedy characters is a breach of IP rights, but loses. You would have foolishly hoped that furren people had learned from the Budweiser/Budvar dispute but clearly not.
[Still Game] Bunch ay fannies [/Still Game]
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65695647
Long story short: US distiller of whiskey claims that Scottish whisky marketed on the basis of two very popular Scottish comedy characters is a breach of IP rights, but loses. You would have foolishly hoped that furren people had learned from the Budweiser/Budvar dispute but clearly not.
[Still Game] Bunch ay fannies [/Still Game]
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mardi 23 mai 2023
Who will win the Republican nomination?
"Beyond Trump [and DeSantis], those already in the GOP field include former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to announce his candidacy in the coming weeks."
https://apnews.com/article/0495d5673...179d01f1f7c45e
(Thought this deserved its own thread.)
https://apnews.com/article/0495d5673...179d01f1f7c45e
(Thought this deserved its own thread.)
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[Continuation] Why James Webb Telescope rewrites/doesn't the laws of Physics/Redshifts (2)
For my 5000th post, I'm going to tell a joke about differential geometry.
(Stop me if you've heard this one before.)
An engineer, physicist, and mathematician were visiting a farmer friend in Wales. The farmer enlisted their help in designing a fence that would surround his sheep using as little fencing as possible.
(Stop me if you've heard this one before.)
An engineer, physicist, and mathematician were visiting a farmer friend in Wales. The farmer enlisted their help in designing a fence that would surround his sheep using as little fencing as possible.
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Honest-to-God false flag attack on a US synagogue
A truly bizarre tale of how a frequent contributer to a extreme left wing, conspiratorial publication was arrested vandalizing a synagogue and trying to frame it on Ukraine's notorious Avoz battalion
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...i/70181046007/
A bit about the publication in which she had worked:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MintPr..._News_Staff-56
Quote:
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A woman accused of spray-painting antisemitic graffiti at the Woodward Avenue Shul Jewish Center in Royal Oak last week has been charged, police said. Randi Lucille Nord was arraigned Wednesday through 44th District Court in Royal Oak, records show. She was charged with ethnic intimidation, a felony carrying a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and malicious destruction of a building, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a fine three times the amount of the destruction, police said. Magistrate Donald Chisholm ordered her to have no contact with the Shul or Rabbi Mendel Polter. A swastika symbol and the letters AZOV were spray-painted on the side of the building April 27. The word "azov" means “leave” in Hebrew but the letters also are linked to a pro-Nazi Ukrainian militia. |
A bit about the publication in which she had worked:
Quote:
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MintPress News (MPN) is an American far-left[1] news website founded and edited by Mnar Adley (née, Muhawesh) which was launched in January 2012.[2] It covers political, economic, foreign affairs and environmental issues. Editorially, MintPress News supports Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and the governments of Russia, Iran, and Syria.[3][4] It opposes the governments of Israel and Saudi Arabia,[5] and reports geopolitical events from an anti-Western perspective.[6] In one contentious article, MintPress News falsely asserted that the Ghouta chemical attack in Syria was perpetrated by rebel groups rather than by the Syrian government.[4] Described as a conspiratorial website,[7][8] MintPress News publishes disinformation and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, according to researchers at Rutgers University and others.[9][10] MintPress News was a major media domain that spread disinformation about the White Helmets, a Syrian volunteer organization.[11] The site has been accused of regularly publishing pro-Russian propaganda.[10] The source of MintPress News's funding remains unknown.[4] MintPress News is headquartered in Minnesota, United States.[12] |
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dimanche 21 mai 2023
Default
The ones on the right I have been talking to have be clambering for a default for decades. I am sure it’s going to happen and it’s not going to be a breach either. The GOP isn’t rudderless. They have been meeting with the right wing gurus that want default along with no taxes.
The only thing I am unsure of is if this crisis is man made by people in power like I feel inflation is or really just unavoidable. The reason I don’t believe the story on inflation is that inflation is world wide problem and I don’t see everyone worldwide as having the same problem unless it’s driven by fuel costs
The only thing I am unsure of is if this crisis is man made by people in power like I feel inflation is or really just unavoidable. The reason I don’t believe the story on inflation is that inflation is world wide problem and I don’t see everyone worldwide as having the same problem unless it’s driven by fuel costs
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samedi 20 mai 2023
Law stops man from defending himself
Link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...aO?li=BB141NW3
This would never have happened if there hadn't been laws against the victim owning a firearm with which to defend himself against the shooter.
LOL
This would never have happened if there hadn't been laws against the victim owning a firearm with which to defend himself against the shooter.
LOL
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Explosion of mental illness among youth
There seems to be ample evidence that young people today are experiencing previously unheard-of levels of mental illness.
1, 2, 3, 4
Anecdotally, I'm seeing it first hand, with every family with GenZ children I know having at least one kid with mental distress/illness of some kind. Telling them to harden the **** up does not appear to be an option.
The theories behind this tsunami of issues point in several directions, and the strongest link is possibly the rise of social media. The main take from me is that it's a very big problem, and we're critically under-funded worldwide for dealing with it. In the long term it may make covid look like a blip - these are people with potentially lifelong disabilities and someone's going to have to pick up the tab.
It could even be that covid has exacerbated the problem not just with lockdowns and disruptions to schools, but by the virus itself affecting the brain. If it causes cognitive impairment, it's not a big stretch to see it causing mental illness.
I'm a big fan of using psychedelics, but since they're still a heavily illegal drug in most places it's not an overnight cure.
Discuss.
1, 2, 3, 4
Anecdotally, I'm seeing it first hand, with every family with GenZ children I know having at least one kid with mental distress/illness of some kind. Telling them to harden the **** up does not appear to be an option.
The theories behind this tsunami of issues point in several directions, and the strongest link is possibly the rise of social media. The main take from me is that it's a very big problem, and we're critically under-funded worldwide for dealing with it. In the long term it may make covid look like a blip - these are people with potentially lifelong disabilities and someone's going to have to pick up the tab.
It could even be that covid has exacerbated the problem not just with lockdowns and disruptions to schools, but by the virus itself affecting the brain. If it causes cognitive impairment, it's not a big stretch to see it causing mental illness.
I'm a big fan of using psychedelics, but since they're still a heavily illegal drug in most places it's not an overnight cure.
Discuss.
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vendredi 19 mai 2023
What is necessary to be a Christian?
I'm curious Christians. What if I believed that Jesus was the son of god and that he loved me? Is that enough?
I mean, what if I didn't believe in the Bible as a whole? That i believed some of the Bible is wrong? What if I believe a lot of it is wrong? Is that ok?
I mean, what if I didn't believe in the Bible as a whole? That i believed some of the Bible is wrong? What if I believe a lot of it is wrong? Is that ok?
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McCarthy demands work requirements on ‘all the programs’
McCarthy demands work requirements on ‘all the programs’ including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP
Well, I guess all those elderly people are gonna have to find themselves a job again, because :USA:MURICA!!!:USA:
This is the kind of thing that sure helps the GQP at the ballot box, eh? :rolleyes:
Quote:
|
Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is under fire after announcing Tuesday he is demanding work requirements for "all" social safety net programs as part of his debt ceiling "negotiations" with President Joe Biden. For decades, study after study show that work requirements are not effective for many reasons, including many people on programs such as Medicaid are not physically able to work, while Americans using other programs, like SNAP, often called food stamps, are not able to work for lack of child or elder care. And many Americans accessing social safety net programs are working already. Speaker McCarthy, without evidence, baselessly disagrees. "What work requirements actually do is help people get a job," he told reporters. Work requirements do nothing to "help" people get jobs, they simply threaten them with increased hunger, emotional trauma, and disease if they do not. |
This is the kind of thing that sure helps the GQP at the ballot box, eh? :rolleyes:
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[Continuation] General UK Politics IV - Rishi reprise
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by The Don (Post 14073791)
The Conservatives in general, and Boris Johnson in particular, proudly boasted of building "40 new hospitals". It turned out that there were nothing of the sort, in effect installing a new vending machine in an existing hospital was counted as a "new hospital" for counting purposes *.
Now it turns out that no actual building work has been done on 33 of 40 hospitals: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65607962 They lie as easily as they breathe. :mad: The big problem for most of them is that there simply isn't any actual build money (despite the government saying that it was). Of course no-one living in the right wing media bubble will hear anything of this. * - Not actually true but building a new wing, or refurbishing an existing wing on an existing hospital did count. |
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jeudi 18 mai 2023
Experienced Arsonist Spots Arson
A man has been charged with this crime, but the interesting aspect will be what further charges might be laid.
Between 6 and 10 deaths in this tragedy of low socio level accommodation.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/loafer...G5CHG3F65QQXY/
Between 6 and 10 deaths in this tragedy of low socio level accommodation.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/loafer...G5CHG3F65QQXY/
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Lori Vallow Daybell verdict
Guilty on all counts. Both children and Chad Daybell's wife.
She's now facing another murder charge for her last husband.
I believe Chad is facing the death penalty. So I expect him to take a plea bargain to save his life, if the state will allow it.
She's now facing another murder charge for her last husband.
I believe Chad is facing the death penalty. So I expect him to take a plea bargain to save his life, if the state will allow it.
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mercredi 17 mai 2023
Speculation on who Trump will pick for VP?
I'm pretty sure it won't be Pence:
I do hope he will pick Greene. What a delight that will be! He can then take over the record McCain held for many years of worst VP pick.
So....whose the Trump VP pick?
I do hope he will pick Greene. What a delight that will be! He can then take over the record McCain held for many years of worst VP pick.
So....whose the Trump VP pick?
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Macroeconomics for Dummies
I've never gotten real clarity on this, and would welcome input from those familiar with the subject.
I've heard the argument that deficit spending is not detrimental to a wealthy nation, because trading off debt is so lucrative that the country nets out on balance. Basically (AIUI), we can print money with abandon because our GDP is so staggering that we influence the rest of the planet and consequently it's global economy to the point that we steamroll the problem of playing with monopoly currency. Yes, we theoretically pay interest against the debt, but (again, AIUI)
the USD and what it bargains with is effectively erasing it's own debt. It's still there, but "means nothing". It is said that it is in a kind of bankruptcy-proof self-sustaining loop. So when the Ron Pauls of the world moan about returning to a gold standard, the fiat crew points out that we keep going up.
To a laypersons analogy, this sounds like living high on the hog on credit cards. But cards eventually have to be paid. The argument about trading debt is that it is paying its own interest and then some by just rolling the presses.
So of the many things I likely have wrong here, how does fiat currency pay for itself, if at all? Why are we not flat broke and hyperinflated to the point of economic collapse? Is it because we keep finding cheaper ways to buy stuff, like Chinese sweatshop labor, that temporarily infuses value to our economy? That eventually reaches critical mass though, doesn't it?
I've heard the argument that deficit spending is not detrimental to a wealthy nation, because trading off debt is so lucrative that the country nets out on balance. Basically (AIUI), we can print money with abandon because our GDP is so staggering that we influence the rest of the planet and consequently it's global economy to the point that we steamroll the problem of playing with monopoly currency. Yes, we theoretically pay interest against the debt, but (again, AIUI)
the USD and what it bargains with is effectively erasing it's own debt. It's still there, but "means nothing". It is said that it is in a kind of bankruptcy-proof self-sustaining loop. So when the Ron Pauls of the world moan about returning to a gold standard, the fiat crew points out that we keep going up.
To a laypersons analogy, this sounds like living high on the hog on credit cards. But cards eventually have to be paid. The argument about trading debt is that it is paying its own interest and then some by just rolling the presses.
So of the many things I likely have wrong here, how does fiat currency pay for itself, if at all? Why are we not flat broke and hyperinflated to the point of economic collapse? Is it because we keep finding cheaper ways to buy stuff, like Chinese sweatshop labor, that temporarily infuses value to our economy? That eventually reaches critical mass though, doesn't it?
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Rudy Giuliani sued by former associate...
... alleging sexual assault and harassment... and more
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...sexual-assault
Accusations include
- Abuses of power
- Wide-ranging sexual assault and harassment
- Wage theft
- Alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist and antisemitic remarks
Now that does sound familiar
Oh... and Lordy, there are tapes!!
[yt]_2euQYxGnC0[/yt]
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...sexual-assault
Accusations include
- Abuses of power
- Wide-ranging sexual assault and harassment
- Wage theft
- Alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist and antisemitic remarks
The lawsuit also included an allegation that Giuliani asked Dunphy “if she knew anyone in need of a pardon” because “he was selling pardons for $2m, which he and President Trump would split”.
The complaint added that he told Dunphy she could refer people seeking pardons to him as long as she avoided “the normal channels” of going through the office of the pardon attorney, a role within the Department of Justice, which could be subject to public disclosure.
Giuliani, the filing says, “began abusing Ms Dunphy almost immediately after she started working”, making clear “that satisfying his sexual demands … virtually anytime, anywhere … was an absolute requirement”.
The document is filled with lurid allegations. Giuliani, it says, often demanded that Dunphy “work naked, in a bikini, or in short shorts with an American flag on them that he bought for her.
“When they were apart, they would often work remotely via videoconference, and … Giuliani almost always asked her to remove her clothes on camera. He often called from his bed, where he was visibly touching himself under a white sheet.”
Now that does sound familiar
Oh... and Lordy, there are tapes!!
Warning: Embedded video may contain NSFW comments
The suit contains remarks it says were recorded.
[yt]_2euQYxGnC0[/yt]
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lundi 15 mai 2023
Who bears the responsibility for providing religious accommodations in the workplace?
There is a case that may fundamentally change the cost employers must endure to accommodate religion in the workplace.
The current standard says that an employer is only required to accommodate a request if doing so would impose only a minimal cost on the employer. During oral arguments, the Nazi arm of the court seemed to indicate that a ‘reasonable accommodation’ might be met by shifting the burden imposed from the employer to co-workers.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/co-worker...123301577.html
The current standard says that an employer is only required to accommodate a request if doing so would impose only a minimal cost on the employer. During oral arguments, the Nazi arm of the court seemed to indicate that a ‘reasonable accommodation’ might be met by shifting the burden imposed from the employer to co-workers.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/co-worker...123301577.html
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Gil Strang's last linear algebra class at MIT
Gil is 88 y/o. (really!)
Gil has been at MIT for 66 years out of his 88 in existence.
And he's seen far more changes in his lifetime than others before him. And the students shown in the class will see even more rapid changes in their future as we approach the singularity. I hope they do as well as Gil.
We live in very interesting times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUUte2o2Sn8
Gil has been at MIT for 66 years out of his 88 in existence.
And he's seen far more changes in his lifetime than others before him. And the students shown in the class will see even more rapid changes in their future as we approach the singularity. I hope they do as well as Gil.
We live in very interesting times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUUte2o2Sn8
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Facepalm
Yeah, it's one of THOSE videos. But really, what else IS there to say?
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What Is Sin?
What is the nature of sin, and why do we need to repent of it? Is there such a thing as objective sin?
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dimanche 14 mai 2023
Detox with Kambo
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-65541618
Just take some highly poisonous liquid from a frog. Burn a spot on your skin. Put a drop of the liquid on the spot. Start vomiting as your body reacts to the highly toxic poison just applied. Possibly die.
It's Kambo. The new detox treatment that is highly toxic.
Just take some highly poisonous liquid from a frog. Burn a spot on your skin. Put a drop of the liquid on the spot. Start vomiting as your body reacts to the highly toxic poison just applied. Possibly die.
It's Kambo. The new detox treatment that is highly toxic.
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The Subway Strangler finally arrested
Quote:
|
Daniel Penny, who while riding the subway last week choked Jordan Neely, a homeless man, to death, was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court Friday on a charge of second-degree manslaughter, taking his first formal steps as a defendant in a case that has stunned New York City. Mr. Penny, handcuffed and dressed in a dark gray suit and white dress shirt, stood straight and still before the judge, Kevin McGrath. He did not enter a plea to the charge, as he has yet to be indicted by a grand jury, and spoke only to answer the judge’s questions and acknowledge that he would next appear in court on July 17. He was released after posting bail. |
Protests had erupted after NYPD made the inexplicable decision not to arrest Penny at the scene, despite it being abundantly clear that he had caused the strangulation death of his victim, a homeless man named Jordan Neely.
Penny has become a cause celebre of blood thirsty right wing freaks who are scared of big cities and think they need to be ruled with an iron fist.
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samedi 13 mai 2023
Opinion: "The GOP Is the Party of ‘**** You’"
Opinion: "The GOP Is the Party of ‘**** You’"
This is a long piece but please read it before you comment.
Quote:
|
It was once a political party, now it’s a nihilistic, corrupt, fake populist scam. The Republican Party has become the party of ***** you.” ***** you” is the motivation of its alienated voters. It is its legislative strategy. It is its views toward the laws and Constitution of the United States. It is its reaction to morality and values. It is its foreign policy mantra with our allies. ***** you” is even its message to the historians of the future. Sadly, we live in an age in which the political discourse of the United States results in every idea floated by Democrats, independents, and even the elusive “reasonable Republicans,” in which every constructive thought floated about the direction our country should take, or how we should behave, or why the law matters is met by a chorus of Republican leaders with their signature ***** you.” |
Quote:
|
We have seen multiple examples of the politics of ***** you” this week. We have seen Donald Trump, the leader of the party, the high priest of ***** you-ism,” the commander-in-chief of the ***** your feelings” army, in a video-taped deposition saying, essentially, ***** you” to E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer. We heard him say ***** you” to anyone who may have thought sexual abuse was wrong when he doubled down on his famous pussy-grabbing brag, arguing that “stars” like him have been “fortunate” to be able to grab pussies for the past “million years” or so. Then, when an undoubtedly disgusted jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation in record time, he immediately said ***** you” to the American system of justice and to his own hometown in a series of social media posts that soon may be fodder for the next set of defamation suits against him. He followed that up with a televised Trump rally that was carried on CNN in which he repeated some of his greatest ***** yous” to America of the past seven years. He doubled down on the Big Lie. He called Vladimir Putin a smart guy. He refused to condemn Putin as a war criminal. He equated Russia and Ukraine’s role in the former’s invasion of the latter. He promised to pardon Jan. 6 insurrectionists. He said he had a right to the classified government documents he stole. He said the GOP was right to threaten debt default, which he said might have no effect at all. He gloated about his role in making the Dobbs decision happen. And he once again defamed E Jean Carroll. It was a tour de force of what might be called the art of ***** you,” complete with an audience of fawning MAGA zombies and a big old “Get ******” to fact-checkers in the form of his usual tsunami of lies. |
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[Ed] Fake Scientific Papers - Scary Numbers
Fake scientific papers are alarmingly common
Not good:
However:
Not good for science and society.
Not good:
Quote:
|
When neuropsychologist Bernhard Sabel put his new fake-paper detector to work, he was “shocked” by what it found. After screening some 5000 papers, he estimates up to 34% of neuroscience papers published in 2020 were likely made up or plagiarized; in medicine, the figure was 24%. Both numbers, which he and colleagues report in a medRxiv preprint posted on 8 May, are well above levels they calculated for 2010—and far larger than the 2% baseline estimated in a 2022 publishers’ group report. |
Quote:
|
Day sees some hope: Flagging journals suspected of being targeted by paper mills can quickly deter additional fraudulent submissions. He points to his analysis of journals that the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) put on a public list because of suspicions they contained paper mill papers. His company’s Papermill Alarm detector showed that before the CAS list came out, suspicious papers made up the majority of some journals’ content; afterward, the proportion dropped to nearly zero within months (see chart). (Papermill Alarm flags potentially fraudulent papers based on telltale patterns revealed when a paper mill repeatedly submits papers; the company does not publicly disclose what these signs are.) Journals could drive a similar crash by using automated detectors to flag suspicious manuscripts, nudging paper mills to take them elsewhere, Day says. |
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Coin Flipper
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by acbytesla (Post 14069532)
.... A single coin toss produces an unpredictable result. But we can predict the approximate results of ten thousand coin tosses. Now, is this random?
|
The above post led me to write a little WebApp to play with to see the result of coin tosses varying from 10 at a time to 10,000,000 at a time
So you can set the number of coin tosses you would like to see the results for and then tell the app to flip the coin that many times.... it will give you a table of the % of heads and tails for each round you go... and also a running average for the rounds.
Use it to see how even if you go up to 10,000,000 tosses you still are not going to get a precise 50% and even the running average still is not 50%.
If you try 10,000,000 it might take some time depending on the computer you are using... on a good computer should not take more than 0.5 secs for each try... on my computer takes much less and it is a 5 years old computer.... on my iPhone 6plus it takes fraction of a second and on my iPad6 it takes much less than a second.
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vendredi 12 mai 2023
Conviction overturned after 29 years
Louisiana man wrongly convicted of rape released after 29 years in prison
Patrick Brown was released from prison after serving 29 years of a life sentence for raping his stepdaughter. The victim's statements that he was the wrong man were ignored for more than two decades.
Patrick Brown was released from prison after serving 29 years of a life sentence for raping his stepdaughter. The victim's statements that he was the wrong man were ignored for more than two decades.
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jeudi 11 mai 2023
Gigantic Cosmic Explosion
Astronomers capture largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed
:eye-poppi
The sheer scale of things out there in the universe is mind-boggling.
Quote:
|
Fireball ‘100 times the size of the solar system’ thought to have been caused by gas being sucked into supermassive black hole It started as an unremarkable flicker in the night sky. But closer observations revealed that astronomers had captured the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed, an event thought to have been triggered by a giant cloud of gas being gobbled up by a supermassive black hole. The flare-up, traced to 8bn light years away, is more than 10 times brighter than any known supernova and has so far lasted more than three years, making it the most energetic explosion on record. “It went unnoticed for a year as it gradually got brighter,” said Dr Philip Wiseman, an astronomer at Southampton University who led the observations. It was only when follow-up observations revealed how distant it was that astronomers appreciated the event’s almost unimaginable scale. “We’ve estimated it’s a fireball 100 times the size of the solar system with a brightness about 2tn times the sun’s,” Wiseman said. “In three years, this event has released about 100 times as much energy as the sun will in its 10bn-year lifetime.” |
The sheer scale of things out there in the universe is mind-boggling.
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Weekend at Feinstein's
Tales of the Gerontocracy
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023...spectacle.html
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Quote:
|
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California returned to the Senate on Wednesday, weeks shy of her 90th birthday. For nearly three months, she has been absent, the result of a serious case of shingles. Even now she can only work part time, she said in a statement released by her office. In photos that must double as proof of life, she looks fragile, stooped over in a wheelchair. That can hardly be how she’d like to be remembered. Yet as her long career in politics draws to a close, the senator is demolishing whatever legacy she’d hoped to leave. She has become a ghoulish spectacle and a warning: The system she represents is in trouble. |
A picture is worth a thousand words.
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Stephen Tomkinson
UKian actor Stephen Tomkinson has been acquitted of assault causing Grevious Bodily Harm.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...us-bodily-harm
The actor Stephen Tompkinson has been found not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a drunken man he confronted outside his home.
Tompkinson, a familiar face on television programmes from Drop the Dead Donkey to DCI Banks, had been accused of lashing out at Karl Poole who was, with a friend, drinking at the end of the actor’s driveway in the early hours of the morning.
The prosecution said Tompkinson had “snapped” and punched Poole, who fell to the ground and suffered a fractured skull when his head hit the pavement.
Tompkinson told jurors he only pushed Poole away in self-defence and the contact “wasn’t enough to knock a sober man off his feet”.
On Thursday, a jury at Newcastle crown court found Tompkinson not guilty.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...us-bodily-harm
The actor Stephen Tompkinson has been found not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a drunken man he confronted outside his home.
Tompkinson, a familiar face on television programmes from Drop the Dead Donkey to DCI Banks, had been accused of lashing out at Karl Poole who was, with a friend, drinking at the end of the actor’s driveway in the early hours of the morning.
The prosecution said Tompkinson had “snapped” and punched Poole, who fell to the ground and suffered a fractured skull when his head hit the pavement.
Tompkinson told jurors he only pushed Poole away in self-defence and the contact “wasn’t enough to knock a sober man off his feet”.
On Thursday, a jury at Newcastle crown court found Tompkinson not guilty.
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A few Qs i have about of The Big-Bang Theory formulated by Georges Lemaître.
Hello all, this is my very first post here in this forum (after of my post of presentation).
I have a few Qs about of The Big-Bang Theory formulated by Georges Lemaître that have been sprouted since a some years ago. This Qs are placed here in a ramdom way (but not in an order).
I am asking here this Qs because one of the main bases of the scientific thinking (and also of the skeptic thinking) is questioning all the things for to obtain the answers that the person is looking for.
1.- If the whole floating objects (moons, planets, suns or stars, galaxies, small asteroids, comets, etc.) were at the first time an integral part of a kind of a very diminutive size object, how can be possible that (after of "the mega-explosion" of this very diminutive size object) all their expulsed thrown parts of it have been shifted to so gigantic floating objects in the outer space before of to be so "microscopical"? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
2.- This very diminutive size object that exploded out really was composed in their whole of all the chemical elements that do exist in our universe and in such inmense quantities? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
3.- If the force of the explotion of this very diminutive size object was so strong, how is possible that this particular force (force which still until today as strongest as it was since the moment of this explosion), so, how can be possible that this so powerful force is the weak enough for to thrown away (just in the same direction or way than takes the planets, suns or stars, galaxies, etc.) all the most smallest floating objects of our universe as are the moons, small planets, asteroids, comets, etc)? What i am refering in this Q is about why and how is possible that in the paticular circunstances of this mega-explotion do exist the orbits of the floating objects that firstly must be thrown away by this force without any minimal chance of to return repeatedly just in the same contrary direction of the direction that takes this mega-explotion almost without to be really affected by this force? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
4.- Why all the bigger floating objects of this universe have particularly a spherical shape while the smallest floating objects (as are the comets, asteroids, meteorits, a some moons, etc.) have particularly very asymmetrical shapes? All the millions of years passed since the mega-explotion do not was the enough time for to shape them too in a some spherical-like shape? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
5.- How can be possible the formation of solar systems, constellations and galaxies if the monumental force of this mega-explotion is supposed that is so strongest that "in theory" none of the floating objects could have "the time" for to end "hooked" to a "vulgar" and "ordinary" orbit? Really the gravity force of the solar systems, constellations and galaxies is much more strongest than the mega-explotion which "do form" this universe avoiding so the chaotic destiny of floating objects that do not have none orbit at all? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
6.- Why our modern telescopes still without to find floating spherical objects (like moons & planets) that are floating just alone in the outher space and without to have at all an orbit around of another floating body? Really all and each of the moons & planets that do exist in our universe actually are not alone and actually have an orbit for to follow or are outhere moons & planets without any orbit at all --because The Big-Bang Theory points to this chaotic view--. Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
Well, i can have a few more Qs about of The Big-Bang Theory, but i can not remember them now.
Many thanks in advance for your commentaries!
I have a few Qs about of The Big-Bang Theory formulated by Georges Lemaître that have been sprouted since a some years ago. This Qs are placed here in a ramdom way (but not in an order).
I am asking here this Qs because one of the main bases of the scientific thinking (and also of the skeptic thinking) is questioning all the things for to obtain the answers that the person is looking for.
1.- If the whole floating objects (moons, planets, suns or stars, galaxies, small asteroids, comets, etc.) were at the first time an integral part of a kind of a very diminutive size object, how can be possible that (after of "the mega-explosion" of this very diminutive size object) all their expulsed thrown parts of it have been shifted to so gigantic floating objects in the outer space before of to be so "microscopical"? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
2.- This very diminutive size object that exploded out really was composed in their whole of all the chemical elements that do exist in our universe and in such inmense quantities? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
3.- If the force of the explotion of this very diminutive size object was so strong, how is possible that this particular force (force which still until today as strongest as it was since the moment of this explosion), so, how can be possible that this so powerful force is the weak enough for to thrown away (just in the same direction or way than takes the planets, suns or stars, galaxies, etc.) all the most smallest floating objects of our universe as are the moons, small planets, asteroids, comets, etc)? What i am refering in this Q is about why and how is possible that in the paticular circunstances of this mega-explotion do exist the orbits of the floating objects that firstly must be thrown away by this force without any minimal chance of to return repeatedly just in the same contrary direction of the direction that takes this mega-explotion almost without to be really affected by this force? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
4.- Why all the bigger floating objects of this universe have particularly a spherical shape while the smallest floating objects (as are the comets, asteroids, meteorits, a some moons, etc.) have particularly very asymmetrical shapes? All the millions of years passed since the mega-explotion do not was the enough time for to shape them too in a some spherical-like shape? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
5.- How can be possible the formation of solar systems, constellations and galaxies if the monumental force of this mega-explotion is supposed that is so strongest that "in theory" none of the floating objects could have "the time" for to end "hooked" to a "vulgar" and "ordinary" orbit? Really the gravity force of the solar systems, constellations and galaxies is much more strongest than the mega-explotion which "do form" this universe avoiding so the chaotic destiny of floating objects that do not have none orbit at all? Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
6.- Why our modern telescopes still without to find floating spherical objects (like moons & planets) that are floating just alone in the outher space and without to have at all an orbit around of another floating body? Really all and each of the moons & planets that do exist in our universe actually are not alone and actually have an orbit for to follow or are outhere moons & planets without any orbit at all --because The Big-Bang Theory points to this chaotic view--. Have you a theory about of this particular phenomenom?
Well, i can have a few more Qs about of The Big-Bang Theory, but i can not remember them now.
Many thanks in advance for your commentaries!
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mercredi 10 mai 2023
Any good, entertaining 'debunking the paranormal' podcasts out there?
Need something to listen to on a long drive coming up, and that seems like it might be a neat topic. Any good stuff out there along those lines?
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The Sword in History
The Executioner’s Sword
In days of yore only knights and other nobles were allowed to carry a sword. The sword in the middle ages was symbolic of the Christian crusades, such as the Teutonic Knights and Livonian Brothers of the Sword. It is often supposed to represent truth and justice and other such noble sentiments.
However, there was a darker side. Any reigning king or queen was likely to have opposing rebel forces within their own kingdom. After any such uprising or battle to win the throne, the leaders of the losing side would find themselves condemned to death as traitors. Commoners could expect to be beheaded by an axe, laying their head down on a block, whereas knights and nobles could expect a higher class type of execution. They would kneel before the executioner and they would be decapitated by a single swipe of a sword.
This particular C16 executioner’s sword dating from late 1500’s is interesting because, whilst normally the trade of executioner would reasonably provide a comfortable livelihood, nonetheless it was by no means seen as a respectable profession. The executioners were often ex-murderers themselves. They were shunned by polite society and led isolated lives away from the rest of the community. This sword was wielded by Duke Charles of Sweden himself to despatch the 22-year-old son of his arch enemy, Klaus Fleming, who led a fierce civil war against Charles’ ambition of accession to the Swedish throne, over the heir apparent, Sigismund (his brother, King John III’s son). King John III had died in 1592.
(at Swedish State Museum)
Admiral Klaus Fleming died of natural causes in the immediate aftermath of the uprising – which left over 5,000 dead, mostly Finnish peasants backing Charles in the Cudgel War, so-named because they were armed with farming implements, such as hoes and pikes and whatever they could find or steal as weapons, against Fleming’s heavily artillery-armed, armoured and mounted army, with Duke Charles’ army the victor. The price paid by the losers - who were the Catholics, versus the new order Protestants as led by Duke Charles determined to keep Sigismund’s Polish Catholic* throne out – resulted in the blood bath of Linkoping, with five nobles of high birth executed in the town square, as traitors.
Duke Charles himself, unable to exact direct retribution against Klaus Fleming (dec’d), personally executed Fleming’s son, Johan, instead, in the simultaneous blood bath of Turku (1599).
• Weight: 1,950 g (68.78 oz)
• width: 54 mm (2.12 in) (blade)
• length: 825 mm (32.48 in) (blade)
• width: 101 mm (3.97 in)
• length: 1,025 mm (40.35 in)
Charles was elected King by the Riksdag 1604. Johan Fleming’s mother was Ebba Stenbock, who was the sister of Gustav Vasa I’s second wife and Charles' aunt. In effect, Charles IX executed his own great-nephew by his own hand. A high born member of the Swedish Royal Family from Sweden’s most powerful noble families, who acted like a low-class common executioner, who would normally be paid a tradesman’s fee, so enormously great was Charles' anger and fright that Fleming very nearly succeeded.
*Swedish King John III’s wife, Katerina Jagellonica, was from the Polish royal family, hence their son's claim to the Swedish throne.
In days of yore only knights and other nobles were allowed to carry a sword. The sword in the middle ages was symbolic of the Christian crusades, such as the Teutonic Knights and Livonian Brothers of the Sword. It is often supposed to represent truth and justice and other such noble sentiments.
However, there was a darker side. Any reigning king or queen was likely to have opposing rebel forces within their own kingdom. After any such uprising or battle to win the throne, the leaders of the losing side would find themselves condemned to death as traitors. Commoners could expect to be beheaded by an axe, laying their head down on a block, whereas knights and nobles could expect a higher class type of execution. They would kneel before the executioner and they would be decapitated by a single swipe of a sword.
This particular C16 executioner’s sword dating from late 1500’s is interesting because, whilst normally the trade of executioner would reasonably provide a comfortable livelihood, nonetheless it was by no means seen as a respectable profession. The executioners were often ex-murderers themselves. They were shunned by polite society and led isolated lives away from the rest of the community. This sword was wielded by Duke Charles of Sweden himself to despatch the 22-year-old son of his arch enemy, Klaus Fleming, who led a fierce civil war against Charles’ ambition of accession to the Swedish throne, over the heir apparent, Sigismund (his brother, King John III’s son). King John III had died in 1592.
(at Swedish State Museum)
Admiral Klaus Fleming died of natural causes in the immediate aftermath of the uprising – which left over 5,000 dead, mostly Finnish peasants backing Charles in the Cudgel War, so-named because they were armed with farming implements, such as hoes and pikes and whatever they could find or steal as weapons, against Fleming’s heavily artillery-armed, armoured and mounted army, with Duke Charles’ army the victor. The price paid by the losers - who were the Catholics, versus the new order Protestants as led by Duke Charles determined to keep Sigismund’s Polish Catholic* throne out – resulted in the blood bath of Linkoping, with five nobles of high birth executed in the town square, as traitors.
Duke Charles himself, unable to exact direct retribution against Klaus Fleming (dec’d), personally executed Fleming’s son, Johan, instead, in the simultaneous blood bath of Turku (1599).
• Weight: 1,950 g (68.78 oz)
• width: 54 mm (2.12 in) (blade)
• length: 825 mm (32.48 in) (blade)
• width: 101 mm (3.97 in)
• length: 1,025 mm (40.35 in)
Charles was elected King by the Riksdag 1604. Johan Fleming’s mother was Ebba Stenbock, who was the sister of Gustav Vasa I’s second wife and Charles' aunt. In effect, Charles IX executed his own great-nephew by his own hand. A high born member of the Swedish Royal Family from Sweden’s most powerful noble families, who acted like a low-class common executioner, who would normally be paid a tradesman’s fee, so enormously great was Charles' anger and fright that Fleming very nearly succeeded.
*Swedish King John III’s wife, Katerina Jagellonica, was from the Polish royal family, hence their son's claim to the Swedish throne.
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Pet peeves in historical discussions / youtube / etc
Well, since the entertainment peeves threads are doing so well, I thought I'd start one for historical mis-conceptions I sometimes hear even historians repeat. Let me start with one that's been mildly irking me for years:
"Samurai didn't have guns"
This one pops up whenever there's the mandatory "samurai vs knight" video, it's propagated in "The Last Samurai" movie about the Satsuma rebellion in the late 19'th century, and much to my surprise even Sabaton has a "the sword face the gun" line about the same rebellion. And again, sometimes I hear even historians repeat it.
Actually let's make some things clear.
First of all, and my even bigger peeve: the term Samurai isn't historical for anything before the 16'th century. In fact, if you called a warrior a "samurai" before Oda Nobunaga started that trend, he'd cut you where you stand for insulting his honour. Because it basically means "servant", kinda like in Europe the "knecht" in "landesknecht."
Guess who also was one of the first adopter of guns en masse? Yeah, the same Oda Nobunaga.
And they've been used in Japan ever since. In fact, masses of arquebusiers (mostly Ashigaru conscripts commanded by Samurai officers) were the whole thing about the invasion of Korea. By the time of the Satsuma Rebellion -- i.e., the time of The Last Samurai -- it's like three centuries too late for guns to be anything new for any samurai.
"Samurai didn't have guns"
This one pops up whenever there's the mandatory "samurai vs knight" video, it's propagated in "The Last Samurai" movie about the Satsuma rebellion in the late 19'th century, and much to my surprise even Sabaton has a "the sword face the gun" line about the same rebellion. And again, sometimes I hear even historians repeat it.
Actually let's make some things clear.
First of all, and my even bigger peeve: the term Samurai isn't historical for anything before the 16'th century. In fact, if you called a warrior a "samurai" before Oda Nobunaga started that trend, he'd cut you where you stand for insulting his honour. Because it basically means "servant", kinda like in Europe the "knecht" in "landesknecht."
Guess who also was one of the first adopter of guns en masse? Yeah, the same Oda Nobunaga.
And they've been used in Japan ever since. In fact, masses of arquebusiers (mostly Ashigaru conscripts commanded by Samurai officers) were the whole thing about the invasion of Korea. By the time of the Satsuma Rebellion -- i.e., the time of The Last Samurai -- it's like three centuries too late for guns to be anything new for any samurai.
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mardi 9 mai 2023
Trump loses Defamation case.
The Jury just gave Trump a big fat punch in the gut in the Carroll / Trump Libel / Defamation case. The Jury found for Carroll that she had been defamed by Trump.
https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/...AUMVBTJFJN7X4/
Carroll also wins 5 million in damage.
Trump continues to whine about being the "real" victim.
Whatever.
https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/...AUMVBTJFJN7X4/
Carroll also wins 5 million in damage.
Trump continues to whine about being the "real" victim.
Whatever.
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Generative AI - do you want people to communicate with you after your death?
Mods, if you want to merge this with ChatGPT go ahead, but this seems a slightly different topic.
https://generativeai.net/
From a recent Australian ABC news report this application allows someone to set up AI videos to allow your descendants to “chat” with you well beyond your death. I find this idea horrifying. It also showed people who have developed loving relationships with AIs.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-...life/102319158
I like the idea of AI in the abstract, but am horrified about it’s possible misuse. It seems inevitable that AI will have a serious detrimental effect.
If this is so, what should or even can be done?
https://generativeai.net/
From a recent Australian ABC news report this application allows someone to set up AI videos to allow your descendants to “chat” with you well beyond your death. I find this idea horrifying. It also showed people who have developed loving relationships with AIs.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-...life/102319158
I like the idea of AI in the abstract, but am horrified about it’s possible misuse. It seems inevitable that AI will have a serious detrimental effect.
If this is so, what should or even can be done?
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lundi 8 mai 2023
The "People Who Blast Away At Anything That Moves" Catch-all Thread
Since the incidence of morons and yahoos who will "stand their ground" and blast away at anything that moves seems to be an almost daily occurrence now, we need a catch-all thread for them so we can celebrate the freedom of Americans to kill or injure at will whenever they feel the least bit threatened, and often get away with it.
Note: This thread is NOT for mass shootings. However, if a homeowner manages to shoot two or more trespassers, use your best judgment.
We'll start the celebration with this gem:
Louisiana man accused of shooting teen in back of head while she played hide and seek
Well of course when you see shadows you have every right to get your gun and blow them away! They could be Antifa, commies, black people, or worst of all, drag queens!
However, he was a poor shot and only wounded the girl. Maybe they'll sentence him to 50 hours of target practice so he'll do the job right the next time!
Note: This thread is NOT for mass shootings. However, if a homeowner manages to shoot two or more trespassers, use your best judgment.
We'll start the celebration with this gem:
Louisiana man accused of shooting teen in back of head while she played hide and seek
Quote:
|
Starks, L.A. (KPLC/Gray News) - A Louisiana man has been arrested after allegedly shooting a 14-year-old girl in the back of her head, according to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office. KPLC reports that deputies were called out to a home in Starks, Louisiana, early Sunday morning, in reference to a shooting. When deputies arrived they say they found the girl with a gunshot wound to the back of her head. Upon investigating the incident, detectives say that several juveniles were playing hide and seek in the area and were hiding on the neighbor’s property. Detectives spoke to David V. Doyle, the owner of the property. The 58-year-old told authorities that he saw shadows outside his home, went inside and got his firearm. |
However, he was a poor shot and only wounded the girl. Maybe they'll sentence him to 50 hours of target practice so he'll do the job right the next time!
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dimanche 7 mai 2023
How do we reduce mass-shootings?
We can never prevent mass-shootings. But maybe there are practical steps we can take to reduce the number of mass-shootings in the USA.
Some ideas I have are:
-7 day waiting period for all firearms sales, unless you are a reported victim of a domestic abuse, stalking, etc.
-Registration of all semi-auto rifles, shotguns & handguns under the NFA. This requires a background check, paying a license fee.
or
-require all sales of semi-auto handguns, rifles & shotguns be with a state-issued permit that has a thorough background check that includes check for Rx of controlled substances.
Any other ideas? Any ideas about banning guns are futile as such an idea will literally never happen in the USA, at least for another 50 years.
Some ideas I have are:
-7 day waiting period for all firearms sales, unless you are a reported victim of a domestic abuse, stalking, etc.
-Registration of all semi-auto rifles, shotguns & handguns under the NFA. This requires a background check, paying a license fee.
or
-require all sales of semi-auto handguns, rifles & shotguns be with a state-issued permit that has a thorough background check that includes check for Rx of controlled substances.
Any other ideas? Any ideas about banning guns are futile as such an idea will literally never happen in the USA, at least for another 50 years.
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At Least 7 Dead After Vehicle Drives Into Pedestrians in Texas
At Least 7 Dead After Vehicle Drives Into Pedestrians in Texas
Not a shooting, but I'm sure the usual thoughts and prayers will be forthcoming.
Quote:
|
At least seven people are dead after a vehicle ran into a group of people at a bus stop near a shelter for migrants and homeless in the border town of Brownsville, Texas on Sunday morning. Brownsville police say it appears the driver intentionally ran over the victims. Valley Central News reports that according to Brownsville police Lt. Martin Sandoval, the possible attack happened around 8:30 a.m., when a motorist drove into a group of people sitting at a bus stop outside the Ozanam Center in Brownsville. Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, and as many as six others were taken to local hospitals. The motorist, a male suspect, was arrested and charged with reckless driving, but Sandoval said it appeared the act may have been intentional, and that more charges were likely. |
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Misleading Clinical Trial Results- A Historical Review
Historical Review of the Use of Relative Risk Statistics in the Portrayal of the Purported Hazards of High LDL Cholesterol and the Benefits of Lipid-Lowering Therapy
I think it's all about the money/funding. Researchers want to get funding, so it benefits them to be more dramatic in their presentation ..
The medical/scientific establishment seems to be giving bad research a pass. Why?
The review focuses on the misrepresentation of the benefits of cholesterol reduction therapy, but also alerts us to research that cherry picks the findings, resulting in the misrepresentation of the implications of those findings.
Other quotes of note:
Quote:
|
For example, if a heart attack occurs in 2% of those in the placebo group and in 1% of those in the drug-treated group, the benefit to the treated population is only one percentage point better than no treatment. This finding is unlikely to generate much enthusiasm from the study sponsors and in the reporting of the findings to the public. Instead, trial directors can amplify the magnitude of the appearance of the treatment benefit by using the relative risk (RR) value of a 50% reduction of the risk of a heart attack, since one is 50% of two. |
The medical/scientific establishment seems to be giving bad research a pass. Why?
The review focuses on the misrepresentation of the benefits of cholesterol reduction therapy, but also alerts us to research that cherry picks the findings, resulting in the misrepresentation of the implications of those findings.
Other quotes of note:
Quote:
|
Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet, expressed the opinion that “much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue” [1]. A similar sentiment was expressed by John Ioannidis, professor of medicine, epidemiology, and population health at Stanford, who stated, “There is increasing concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority or even the vast majority of published research” [2]. Marcia Angell, former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), disclosed, “It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines” [3]. |
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vendredi 5 mai 2023
[Split Thread] Difference between Antifa and the Proud Boys
Reading this article on Lawfare, I'm struck with how much the Proud Boys came to resemble Antifa. Consider:
Later, in chat messages:
CHOP or CHAZ in Seattle?
Also numerous anti-police sentiments expressed, just like Antifa.
Quote:
|
Videos presented by the government show that, before the Proud Boys arrived, the circle was still calm and sparsely populated with protesters. The arrival of 200 Proud Boys changed that. Biggs led chants through his megaphone. They evolved <snip. to “Whose house? Our house” and “Whose Capitol? Our Capitol.” |
Quote:
|
'"This is no longer Washington DC... This is the City of the People of the United States of America. Come and Take it!" |
Also numerous anti-police sentiments expressed, just like Antifa.
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jeudi 4 mai 2023
Proud Boys Not So Proud......
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/04/polit...ict/index.html
Guess the Nuremburg defense (blame it on your leader) did not work here.Then, it never does.
Outraged statement from Benedict Donald in 3...2..1...
Guess the Nuremburg defense (blame it on your leader) did not work here.Then, it never does.
Outraged statement from Benedict Donald in 3...2..1...
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mercredi 3 mai 2023
Academy of English
Imagine *they* (idk who, someone) was going to create an Academy of English, like the one in France, that controls the language. What words would you want removed (or added)? What changes would you see made?
Ffo ****.
Ffo ****.
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[Continuation] The Russian invasion of Ukraine part 7
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by steenkh (Post 14062998)
Perhaps we could discuss the lack of an Ukrainian offensive instead indulging in disgusting fantasies?
|
But if you want to discuss the conflagration in Sevastopol, the Ukrainians building miniaturized V-1s with improved pulse-jets and modern guidance systems, or the depth and extent of Moscow fortifications in and around Ukraine, all those topics are yours for the discussing. Just type the words and press "Submit".
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MOLDED GRAPHENE
Just wondering should I patent Molded Graphene or wait until I can manufacture more of it in large quantities?
Right now it's very difficult to make, using a process simular but different to Rice University.
https://youtu.be/3hHoL77QDkg
Right now it's very difficult to make, using a process simular but different to Rice University.
https://youtu.be/3hHoL77QDkg
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mardi 2 mai 2023
A scientific fact/tidbit you recently learned that you thought was interesting
It's estimated that in the universe a supernova occurs once every second.
I thought wow that's a lot, until I remembered the universe is a pretty big place. Kind of like saying once a second a grain of sand in the Sahara explodes.
I thought wow that's a lot, until I remembered the universe is a pretty big place. Kind of like saying once a second a grain of sand in the Sahara explodes.
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The GOPs next campaign in the war on women
Is on the marriage front. The linked article describes how the GOP is coalescing around a push to make no-fault divorces a thing of the past. It’s an interesting read and I look forward to a rational discussion about the merits of such a notion.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...145422438.html
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...145422438.html
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Bellingcat: A Beginner's Guide to Social Media Verification
Eponymous article by Bellingcat people on basic rules for checking articles on social media.
https://www.bellingcat.com/resources...-verification/
Mods: feel free to move elsewhere if you like.
https://www.bellingcat.com/resources...-verification/
Quote:
|
The following guide seeks to explain how we can be vigilant about the videos and photos we see online while identifying those that contain misleading, misattributed or false information. Verification doesn’t need to be difficult. It also doesn’t require any complicated algorithms or access to advanced tools or programs that automatically detect whether an image may be fake or manipulated. A critical mindset and a close look at the context of an image or post, allied with simple tools such as a Google search or reverse image platforms, are often all it takes to discover whether a piece of content is genuine. |
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Wrong "Store" Shooting
25-year-old Brittany Rich rolls up to a convenience store in her beat up 2010 Dodge Avenger. She heads into the store to make a purchase, possibly Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea, media has not clarified as of yet, before exiting the store.
Once outside the store, a "man" snatches her car keys out of her hand. She follows him around to the side of her car and tries to take her keys back. He shoots her 7 times, once in the stomach, killing her unborn child.
Police are still searching for 3 subjects, no descriptions given, but 3 black males can be seen in security video participating in this crime. Brittany Rich is white.
Ms. Rich has not been invited to the White House as far as I'm aware.
Video of the shooting captured in broad daylight can be found in the news report.
https://www.wral.com/carjackers-shoo...hild/20712593/
Once outside the store, a "man" snatches her car keys out of her hand. She follows him around to the side of her car and tries to take her keys back. He shoots her 7 times, once in the stomach, killing her unborn child.
Police are still searching for 3 subjects, no descriptions given, but 3 black males can be seen in security video participating in this crime. Brittany Rich is white.
Ms. Rich has not been invited to the White House as far as I'm aware.
Video of the shooting captured in broad daylight can be found in the news report.
https://www.wral.com/carjackers-shoo...hild/20712593/
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lundi 1 mai 2023
Dust storm causes enormous crash in USA
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/01/u...hes/index.html
40 to 60 passenger vehicles and at least 30 commercial vehicles.
6 dead and at least 30 hospitalised.
I'm horrified that people were continuing to drive (at speed one must presume) under such dreadful conditions.
40 to 60 passenger vehicles and at least 30 commercial vehicles.
6 dead and at least 30 hospitalised.
I'm horrified that people were continuing to drive (at speed one must presume) under such dreadful conditions.
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AI makes non-invasive mind-reading possible by turning thoughts into text
Yet another leap forward.
AI makes non-invasive mind-reading possible by turning thoughts into text
How long before AI can produce an accurate model of me, that can answer as I would?
AI makes non-invasive mind-reading possible by turning thoughts into text
“Our system works at the level of ideas, semantics, meaning,” said Huth. “This is the reason why what we get out is not the exact words, it’s the gist.”Is it the AI communicating or is it us?
How long before AI can produce an accurate model of me, that can answer as I would?
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