Everything posted by TheVat
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American Foreign Policy; Be a complete bullying a******
If this wasn't the Putin Stooges admin , I would wonder if this was some clever maneuver to throw Russia off the scent of some other covert operation. But we know when a Trumpista does something that appears stupid, it is just as it appears. And you can count on optics and timing that make any action they take even worse...like standing down Cyber Com right after the Kremlin goes on a gloating bender over the Zelensky smackdown. Heard that rumor in the form of threats against their families, which fits the mobster template that Trump often uses. From what I've seen of Trump, I wouid imagine that career death wouid be all the threat he needs. Your next election will see you running for dog catcher in Podunk. And you'll lose!
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Radioactive anomaly appears in the deep ocean
“If the anomaly were found everywhere, then the astrophysics hypothesis would be supported,” Koll says. “But if it were detected only in specific regions, the explanation involving altered ocean currents would be more plausible.” How easily is bottom rock/sediment moved long distances by ocean currents? Going just on that article, the cosmic radiation hypothesis seems more likely, but maybe currents can move more material than initially seems possible. (or maybe tectonic effects are also in play?)
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Cultured milk: What about it?
Having spent half my life struggling to digest dairy, I have found lactobacillus acidophilus to be a friend, as it helps break down lactose. Other bacteria can also help make the proteins easier to digest, too (e.g. L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus). These cultures only get you so far, however, and I've reached the point where dairy intake is very limited (e.g. adding a couple ounces of whole A2 milk to improve the flavor of pea protein milk or soy milk). As others posted, you should look into the probiotic aspects, which especially helps people who have damaged the balance of their gut microflora with antibiotics or due to various GI tract pathologies.
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American Foreign Policy; Be a complete bullying a******
Started to reply then saw @toucana helpful post, plus your reply. Well, I have a theory that putting a chip fab in Arizona was something the Taiwanese went for because it would make the process very slow - chip printing requires a lot of water, so Arizona is actually a terrible location. With present declining water table and population growth fighting for every liter, the AZ fab might never happen and Taiwan can make sad faces and regretful noises that they were unable to export their most SOTA fabrication systems. This way, they keep their core competency at home, and maintain the Silicon Shield they have. It's their advanced (and carefully guarded) printing methods, is what I've heard.
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The arrest of Pavel Durov and the French Constitution
Not sure I believe it's quite that binary. If that were the case, then obviously I would not so readily support warrant-based interception of criminal messaging. I really need more information on this issue. (for one thing, aren't court orders more user-specific?)
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American Foreign Policy; Be a complete bullying a******
Except the ones he calls dictators. 🙂 Or sofa. Just have to chuckle, again, at the conservatives around here who were positing that Vance would emerge as a more judicious and rational version of Trumpism. Blew that theory out of the water yesterday.
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American Foreign Policy; Be a complete bullying a******
The claims that Trump was turned by the KGB in 1987 are becoming more credible. When you look at the kind of person Trump is, it is so easy to imagine kompromat being found. https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5162890-assessing-new-allegations-that-trump-was-recruited-by-the-kgb/ OK, back to scanning Zillow listings for Vancouver. And likely restoration of the CCCP, starting with the easiest pickings in bordering eastern bloc. Putin has stated this pretty overtly in the past. The rest of your post was an excellent summation of Ukraine's struggle for existence.
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Energy in America
Appears to be a couple dozen thread topics here. "Energy in America" could easily be an entire subforum. Seems like narrowing it to this question would prompt some chat. Having followed this field for five decades my takeaway is a) depends on where you are, b) depends on structures that store intermittent sourced power, and c) the best solution to line loss and grid woes is decentralized sourcing (either district power, as is being tried more in EU, or home installed systems). Wind uses the simplest tech, but often requires a lot of grid to get the joules from the windy spots to the populous spots. It's not the best candidate for rooftop installations. That said, it can provide an enormous quantity of power, and coastal offshore installations could bring gigawatts to coastal urban centers with fairly low line losses. And there are areas like western South Dakota which are so relentlessly windy that it's very economical to put up turbines and ship those watts quite a distance. Solar is the optimal choice for rooftops, especially in the Southwest and other sunny locales. It also needs no subsidies once it gains momentum and municipalities and states (lobbied heavily by FF based utilities) don't penalize or block "reverse meter" installs. Other sources are even more geographically particular (geothermal, tidal) and would less satisfy the "wide scale" part of the OP question. But they are very much part of the mosaic of energy sources, as is good old hydro. Finally, let's not politicize subsidies. Subsidies are a time-honored way for societies to designate some innovation as a public good worth developing and encourage companies to implement them. They are economic training wheels, when done right, and eventually can be removed. Most projections I've seen on SCC (the social cost of carbon - see Bob Devine's great book, The Sustainable Economy) show a good ROI on incentives for clean energy.
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The arrest of Pavel Durov and the French Constitution
First, it may not be the mailman's job, but the postmaster general who runs the US postal service does have to be responsible and assist law enforcement in stopping the mailing of illegal materials. This is a normal part of law enforcement in most places - indeed, protecting people from criminal harm is a primary goal of society. So your analogy doesn't really work there, but it helped me get my point across. Secondly, I am not posting "lies." These events are public record. News outlets are governed by libel and slander laws. If they reported wrongly, they could be sued for millions. I'm sorry their reports don't fit your worldview in which Durov is some kind of free speech saint. Third, I cannot cite and post child exploitation/porn messages which have been intercepted by law enforcement - do you understand why evidence to be shown at a court trial is not shared with the public before trial? If you can't understand that, I really can't help you. Your SFN child rapist analogy does not really seem analogous to what Durov was allowing or his uncooperative stance with law enforcement. The owner of this site is a physician and I am confident he would cooperate with the authorities, if SFN were to become a major messaging center for drug cartels, child porn, and organized RW violence against immigrants. Your prior posts here usually seem intelligent and helpful, but I suspect that your understanding of the law is somewhat less than of information technology.
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The movement to destroy American culture and traditions.
The "woke agenda" is a fictitious RW caricature of civil rights, equal opportunity, and teaching actual history instead of patriotic fairy tales. Woke, in its actual meaning, simply means being awake to the systemic problems in America that perpetuate discrimination and racism. IOW, it really just means pulling your head out of your ass.
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The arrest of Pavel Durov and the French Constitution
Nope. Covered in major news outlets all over the world. https://wapo.st/4ijqUhN But the messaging service’s anything-goes approach to online content has also made it one of the internet’s largest havens for child predators, experts say. French prosecutors charged Durov on Wednesday with complicity in the distribution of child sex abuse images and other wrongdoing on Telegram, following the billionaire’s dramatic arrest last week at a Paris airport.... https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-child-safety-rcna168266 Before Telegram’s CEO was arrested in France, the app had gained a reputation for ignoring advocacy groups fighting child exploitation. Three of those groups, the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and the U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation, all told NBC News that their outreach to Telegram about child sexual abuse material, often shorthanded as CSAM, on the platform has largely been ignored. (.....) John Shehan, senior vice president of NCMEC’s Exploited Children Division & International Engagement, said he was encouraged by France’s decision to arrest Durov because Telegram has been such a haven for CSAM. “Telegram is truly in a league of their own as far as their lack of content moderation or even interest in preventing child sexual exploitation activity on their platform,” he said “It is encouraging to see the French government, French police, taking some action to potentially rectify this type of activity,” Shehan said. (etc.) (this is easily researched, matters of public record)
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The arrest of Pavel Durov and the French Constitution
No. Not sure if your translator is working properly. I said only that, in cases of child exploitation or serious crime, it is lawful to seek a warrant from a court to examine their communication. As others noted, public safety can override some laws, and there are ethical grounds that need to be established before a judge. There is no call for this kind of trolling. You clearly did not understand my statement. And I wasn't singling out child porn as the only type of criminal activity where such surveillance warrants can be applied for.
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Fashion history
I am a museum rat and know a bit about modern art. I think YSL was known to be influenced by Cubism. Google Yves Saint Laurent and Cubism, you should find something.
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The arrest of Pavel Durov and the French Constitution
Wasn't Durov also allowing the sexual exploitation of children through Telegram? And it was used to coordinate anti immigrant violence by extremist groups in the UK, as I recall. I don't think such activities are protected by international law or most national constitutions. Private messages can be intercepted, when there is a court warrant and in cases where serious harm to persons is concerned. I am thinking you do not have children, that you would even think of excusing this bastard with some legalistic appeal. He was operating a cesspool. F him and everyone involved.
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Messages to the president...
Looks like Trump's assault on the free press is proceeding nicely. Jeff Bozos seems to be more firmly pinned under El Douche's thumb. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/feb/26/jeff-bezos-washington-post-opinion
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Political Humor
What's brown and black and looks good on a lawyer? A doberman.
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Let's play biochemical detective
For some reason, experiments where animals are given poison and then their reactions monitored is one of my least favorite types of scientific research. It is worth noting that new alternative forms of testing are emerging, some with less ethical baggage. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/science/sya-iccvam BTW isn't ethylene glycol one of the rxn products? This could be a major player in the toxicity, and its effects are well known. One metabolic byproduct of ingested ethylene glycol is oxalic acid, which can be a kidney killer.
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New religion of Nothingness
Even the moderator has been...sucked into this madness. It does take us back to the central topic, as we find that Freddie Mercury sometimes hinted at his Church of Nothing beliefs in his song lyrics, e.g. Nothing really matters, anyone can see. Nothing really matters to me.
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Political Humor
- Pro’s and Con’s of Elon Musk
Is that the one with the glowing hockey pucks in the neck that contain people's minds? I recall watching a couple episodes of that, maybe five years ago, then never got back to it. There was an AI hotel run by Edgar Allen Poe, I remember liking that. Probably should give it another try. Another thread. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/malfeasance#google_vignette Hope that helps. If I had to guess, I'd say you were striving to make a joke there. 😀- Pro’s and Con’s of Elon Musk
It's about one in 50 are fed employees, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Possibly your number extended the category to private contractors, military, etc.? Anyway, I take your point, and also wonder just how our economy absorbs this kind of thing. One thing that might happen is that, due to the layoffs, the government will have to use private contractors to do some things that, well, have to get done. So there may be some shift towards the private sector. One unfortunate shift, due to the layoffs in the National Park and Forest Service, will be to more firefighters needed - P and F Service workers did a range of tasks that helped with fire suppression and control. Some states will probably be forced to hire more people for forest maintenance and fire fighting. I use this example, as it concretely illustrates how, when the feds cut back, then states scramble to cover the gaps. People in places like Montana, however much they approve of Trump's version of "small government," don't want their homes and ranches, woodlots, tourist cabins, etc. to be incinerated. I notice no one in the MAGA crowd are talking about military cutbacks to match the domestic services cutbacks. Sort of sadly funny, given that the military is the single largest source of government waste and ridiculous overkill programs. If Trump really meant all his blather about isolationism and not being World Police, then he would be putting military funding in the crosshairs. But, no, wait, he wants to reject alliances and make insane land grabs....- New religion of Nothingness
Beware, heretics! Those that mock the vacuum shall reap the whirlwind - or technically, the cyclonic action. The blasphemer shall be choked with pet hair, and wander in a wasteland of mixed floor coverings. His HEPA filter will clog and his motor shall be cooked. So it was written in the book of Dyson.- New religion of Nothingness
Hail Hoover, full of dirt!- Capitalization of the pronoun 'I'
Maybe. Probably no single reason, because a lot of conventions in language just happen, a sort of evolution without any authoritative oversight. I often don't capitalize i or i'm or i'd when it is not starting a sentence, a habit developed from using tablets and flip phones a lot, where uppercase will be more trouble. (i dont thumb type well, so i will also leave out apostrophes and other punctuation that isnt absolutely necessary) I like that Russian doesn't bother with articles and yet meaning is clear from context. 🙂- What is DEI, and why is it dividing America?
Yes, once again the adjective Orwellian comes to mind. Making reform measures sound harmful goes way back. London had all the information needed to know it needed to put in dedicated sewer lines by the early 1800s. Thanks to the "shopocracy," (voting laws meant that mainly prosperous merchants voted) this knowledge wasn't acted upon for fifty years. As many as a hundred thousand died from cholera, typhoid and pathogenic serotypes of E. Coli, as a result. Affluent people didn't want to pay the extra taxes. Cause taxes harm business, right? - Pro’s and Con’s of Elon Musk
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