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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/12/24 in all areas

  1. Definitions can be useful for specific contexts. A bit of an issue with fascism is that it definitions are slightly diffuse, and the folks who considered themselves fascist are a bit deliberate vague in their ideology. There are a few common elements that one can use to distinguish them from e.g. communist ideologies (e.g. ultranationalism, capitalist system and belief in natural social hierarchies, for example). But if the point is regarding the dangers of autocratics systems, these elements might not be relevant. A modern danger in the Western world is the momentum of more diffuse, but populist and grievance-based sentiments, where folks are willing to trade freedoms for an autocratic system that punishes those oppose to them. It remains an old play book where fears of immigrants, certain races, homosexuality (or basically any sexuality not considered the norm), transgenderism and so on is seen as an existential threat and a perceived strong man (Orban, Trump etc.) is their saviour. What can also be seen is that those sentiments are coordinated (to a big degree by social media) and can be traced to certain strategist (e.g. Bannon) who have especially mobilized young white men who feel disenfranchised.
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  2. Trump of course would somehow claim it's just fake pews...
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  3. True. All the fascist labelled states, Franco's Nationalists in Spain, Mussolini's Fascists in Italy, Hitler's National Socialists, and even Peron's Argentina, as well as Stalin's communists in Russia, Pol Pot's Communists in Cambodia and Mao Zedong's Communists in China used the same 'actions'. They were better classified as strong dictatorships where dissention is not tolerated, and results in death. The labels have no meaning because, even when you have a popular uprising to protest oppression by the wealthy few, as in the French Revolution, it soon descends into murdering chaos. It seems we humans only know one method. Instead of discussion to gain consensus, we choose to silence opposing ideas; in the extreme cases, mentioned above, by eliminating the people with the opposing ideas.
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  4. Why does everyone think there is a need to 'harmonize' Quantum Mechanics with General Relativity ? The two models are well suited to each of their areas of applicability. But there is no doubt that the universe is probabilistic in nature. This non-determinism is 'smoothed out' by large numbers to make it virtually deterministic at larger scales. We are currently at 18-19th century levels of understanding with the two models as we were with Newtonian particle dynamics of gases, and Thermodynamic theory of gases. It took Statistical Thermodynamics to bridge the gap, and give us a more inclusive view of Gas Theory. The large numbers of Statistical Thermodynamics 'smooth out' the transition between the two models; yet the two models also remain valid in their respective applications, and are still used. Some day we may have a model which bridges the gap between QFT and GR, incorporating the most fundamental ideas of both, but that won't mean current QFT and GR cease to be valid where applicable. I am certain, however, that whatever theory manages to bridge the divide, will not, in any way, mention consciousness ...
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  5. Don't know what Dima is on about, and I don't particularly care. But "The West is turning Fascist" ?? That's when labels stop having any meaning. You'll recall that Fascists and Communists ( which Russia still claims to be ) are ideologically opposed, and the eastern part of WW2 was fought about those ideological differences. And the reason, given by V Putin, for invading the Ukraine, and liberating its people from the oppressive Nazi fascists. Similarly, it seems that those we label fascists, like D Trump and his brown shirts ( who march on the Capital ) are V Putin ass-kissers and sympathizers. D Trump has said numerous times how much he admires V Putin, and how he'd allow him to have Europe if the Europeans don't pay their bills. This isn't a case of Nazis, Fascists, or Communists. Its despots, Democracies, and wanna-be despots who are willing to throw away our Democracy for personal gain.
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  6. Relax, NSA monitors! He's just joking!
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  7. It's the reticule from an autocollimator. https://moeller-wedel-optical.com/en/product/reticles/ What were you thinking?
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  8. That’s not a foundation of science; there are plenty of non-random, deterministic interactions. The reading you shared did not say that mutations are not random. It said certain outcomes have a bias, i.e. outcomes do not all have the same probability. The word would be credibility, which is gained or lost by whether one is posting information and making arguments that are credible.
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  9. Obvious fake...there's only one turtle... LOL. (quietly...yeah no...I won't go there!) In his defence I also would photoshop in some extra...ah...fingers, if my ah...hands were that small... Hard to make any future claim you're "just a patsy" after that post! 😄 ...and I'll see myself out!
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  10. For a moment, I thought that looked like this. But it's probably just me...
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  11. An English man an Irish man and a Scottish man, walk into a bar, and the barman says "is this some sort of joke?"
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  12. America created, uses and supports nucklear blackmail policy like all members of nucklear klub . Ukraine destroys the policy . Therefore Trump and all Biden's team are against victory of Ukraine.
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