TheVat

I wish I could say our intelligence community is smarter and more sensible than El Douche, but am no longer confident that will stay the case. It will be quite the goatf---, trying to remove operations like Pine Gap, in Australia, if the remaining Four Eyes decide to separate and keep up intel ops without the massive US technical infrastructure. Since Pine Gap is a US base, for example, what does Australia do? IIRC, there has long been a movement in Australia to close Pine Gap and boot out the US - I'm guessing current events are giving them momentum.

The housing shortage here is an effect of rising costs of land, building materials, labor shortages, and poor zoning laws. And developers incentivized to focus on building high-end luxury homes. We have a shortage of homes due to particular causes like these, not because the middle class is vanishing. What you are hearing is that it is harder for the middle class to own a free-standing house, and so more middle class people are renting apartments or buying condominiums or mobile homes. This shift away from free-standing houses has been happening in Europe for a much longer time, because land there has been more expensive for much longer (population density is an important factor). The shortage here accelerated during the pandemic, which meant high demand for apartments and soaring rents - again, a severe market problem and not a vanishing middle class. As cities are starting to change zoning and incentivizing affordable housing development, the problem will gradually diminish. We expect little help from the federal government, since it's now being dismantled by an angry toddler.

Not really, just distinguishing between western analytic philosophy and theology as they currently are done. Not saying that someone like Spinoza didn't do both, in his day.

You were able to translate it? Still in gibberish, on my device. That is so hot. "Don't know much about geometry..."

Because it presumes in advance that which a philosopher would question. I.e. theology assumes it has an object of study: God. Whereas philosophy, spec. metaphysics and epistemology, would question if such a being existed and if so, how it could be known by humans.

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!

“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?)

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.

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.

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?)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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

What's brown and black and looks good on a lawyer? A doberman.

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.

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.

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. 😀