Deepfake videos muddy the water even more.

Watch Zuckerberg confess: “Imagine this for a second: One man, with total control of billions of people’s stolen data, all their secrets, their lives, their futures.”

Except it's not him. Videos faking people out has moved ahead another step.

Quote:

Deepfake video of Mark Zuckerberg presents a new challenge for Facebook

What goes around comes around.

Quote:

Facebook refused to remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month, but this week the company faces a new quandary: Will it remove a fake video of its own CEO, Mark Zuckerberg? The video, posted to Facebook-owned Instagram over the weekend, falsely portrays Zuckerberg as saying, “Imagine this for a second: One man, with total control of billions of people’s stolen data, all their secrets, their lives, their futures.”... ...Last month Facebook declined to remove a manipulated video that made it appear House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was slurring her words. The company said it downranked the false video, meaning it would be seen in fewer people’s Facebook News Feeds. Pelosi later blasted the company, “I think they have proven — by not taking down something they know is false — that they were willing enablers of the Russian interference in our election,” she told California’s KQED.

The Zuckerberg one is pretty convincing. There's one of Trump that appears fake because the voice isn't perfect. I'm sure fixing that is only another tech move away.

via International Skeptics Forum http://bit.ly/2IBrfgz

2019 Polar Ice Thread

Polar sea ice is set to reach a minimum for the day of the year^* in both the Arctic and Antarctic.

https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/c...sea-ice-graph/


1 Is there a word for comparisons across the same day/period? It would be "phenological" in Biology, not sure about Climate Science.

Couldn't find a 2019 version of the previous sea ice threads, if there is one, Mods please move this post.

via International Skeptics Forum http://bit.ly/2WCjWdu

Vivian Gomez from Colorado has seen an Alien

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2019/06...-is-het-alles/

The tweets are in English. For the rest, I'd suggest GT.

Pretty sure It's just a kid, although she claims that it's not her son. Could still be another kid that lives down the block.

Video: https://www.facebook.com/vivian.gome...6790852937217/

For a so-called "alien", he sure walks fast and wobbly...

via International Skeptics Forum http://bit.ly/2Wza987

Is there a term for the gradual deterioration of quality?

You've seen this before: a new thing comes out, it's great, everyone loves it. But as time goes on the new thing is dialed back. It becomes a little smaller, it doesn't come with the same stuff, the stuff it does come with is cheaper, it costs a little more, until the thing really just isn't any good. I have in mind a rice bowl option at my workplace eatery, which used to be a gem, with veggies and toppings and sauces, but by degrees has become a scoop of overpriced chicken cubes on rice.

Is there a word that represents this kind of deterioration? "Decadence" captures the general trajectory, but it's the other way around, with things collapsing in on their own filigree instead of being trimmed down to generic mundanity.

via International Skeptics Forum http://bit.ly/2R9hpq8

Flat Earth and the rise of science denial in America

Here's a short opinion piece on the subject of science denial focusing primarily on Flat Earther(ism).

Quote:

Every day in the media we see once-unthinkable science headlines. More than seven hundred cases of measles across 22 states in the U.S., largely due to vaccine deniers. Climate change legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate—due mainly to partisan politicians who routinely confuse climate and weather—even as scientists tell us that we have only until 2030 to cut worldwide carbon emissions by half, then drop them to zero by 2050. And, in one of the most incredible developments of my lifetime, the Flat Earth movement is on the rise. More https://www.newsweek.com/flat-earth-...merica-1421936

via International Skeptics Forum http://bit.ly/2R9MwBY

Hearing problems

About 9 months ago my left ear started to feel like it was blocked, as if with water, like when I was a serious swimmer in my youth. This was obviously not the case here as I haven’t been swimming for years. In addition to this I have been suffering “cocktail party effect” where I can’t filter background noise and have to lipread people at parties.

I’ve been flying a lot recently and thought that might be a factor. Anyway I’ve been resisting calls from people about ear candling and other woo “remedies” and went to an ear nose and throat specialist a few months ago. He put me through numerous tests and said that my hearing was quite good for my age. My eardrums were intact, but there were nodes in my ears due to my swimming (when he first looked into my ears he said “ah, a swimmer”). The feeling of blockage was due to my eardrum protruding into my inner ear and creating a pressure differential. His advice? Hold my nose and pop my ears!!

Anyway, no progress, so I went back to him today. Although my ear felt more blocked, my hearing was still good. Hearing aids would be a waste of money according to him. Grommets would not work because of the spurs. “Learn to live with it” was his advice. Good to get such honesty.

Why this thread? I don’t know. Maybe someone has some advice. Maybe the lesson is to wear earplugs when swimming. Maybe I’m just pissed off with the blocked ear feeling.

via International Skeptics Forum http://bit.ly/2X7UBwy

How long has "homosexual" been in the Bible?

An interesting and eye-opening read.

https://www.forgeonline.org/blog/201...-romans-124-27

Relevant excerpt:

Quote:

...I had a German friend come back to town and I asked if he could help me with some passages in one of my German Bibles from the 1800s. So we went to Leviticus 18:22 and he’s translating it for me word for word. In the English it says “Man shall not lie with man, for it is an abomination,” In the German version it says “Man shall not lie with young boys as he does with women, for it an abomination.” I said, “What?! Are you sure?” He said, “Yes!” So we went to Leviticus 20:13— same thing, “Young boys.” So we went to 1 Corinthians to see how they translated arsenokoitai (original greek word) and instead of homosexuals it said, “Boy molesters will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

via International Skeptics Forum http://bit.ly/2Wz8wY6