Strega

Ah yes, of course Jake, how could I have been so blind? The benevolent freedom fighters of Hamas, guardians of justice, protectors of women’s rights, LGBTQ+ citizens, and interfaith harmony everywhere. Their tireless work in turning Gaza into a beacon of pluralism and technological innovation over the last 20 years with no help from Israel c…[Read more]

Ceasefires depend on both sides believing the other will abide by what they agreed to. The  track record isn’t great here. If Hamas remains in power and still armed, that undermines the logic of the ceasefire. They still don’t accept Israel’s right to exist. The Hamas Covenant of 1988 endorses an armed struggle until Israel is obliterated. It sof…[Read more]

Yes, they always do it publicly. How else can they win a free and fair election every 20 years.  Their god is great and their fan clubs in the West will continue to justify their support for them.

Unseen wrote:
The “cafeteria Christian” picks and chooses what to believe. The problem is that there is actual scripture.

The problem is, there’s “something for everyone” in the scripture.  God is both vengeful and merciful.  Now, in real life, that is what is required to enforce proper behaviour.  It’s just that some people love the “venge…[Read more]

I am trying to explain to an Irish-American MAGA supporter that it is not the fault of the Democrats that there is a government shutdown. I explained it along the lines of the following:

“That’s not how it works. The House — which the Republicans control — is where all spending bills start. If the House GOP can’t agree among themselves on a budg…[Read more]

Strega wrote:
Simon, with the introduction of ‘a personal relationship with Jesus’ concept, no two Christians have the same set of strongly held views – your post seems to imply that it’s a set based on the religion, rather than on the individual’s pick-and-choose approach to what God wants 🙂

The “cafeteria Christian” picks and chooses what to b…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
Bondi managed to get through her hearing without answering any substantive question, the list being detailed by Adam Schiff:

These combative non-answers remind me of a taught and practiced, primary tactic of LRH’s (inventor of Scientology), when cult members argue with wogs (non cult members): “The best defense is an…[Read more]

(if on AZ front page, click on the timestamp, above, to watch)

PopeBeanie wrote:
Y’all heard Kennedy now blaming autism on Tylenol, linked directly to it being taken right after circumcisions, right?

My favorite comedian, recently. He’s brilliant. He has some “tells” on his face when he’s about to say something funny, and is trying not to s…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
One embodies an irrational belief with no need to support it in any way

I think there’s more to it than that.  Religious people usually have a strong “conscience” – whether that means humble self-guidance on one hand, or entitled, authoritarian meddling in the affairs of the rest of us, on the other extreme.  They have strongly h…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
What the difference between a religious exemption and a philosophical one?

One embodies an irrational belief with no need to support it in any way and the is based on facts and a rational argument in support of the belief. Of course, that would mean that someone qualified to examine those the arguments would be…[Read more]

Bondi managed to get through her hearing without answering any substantive question, the list being detailed by Adam Schiff:

Re the AI video, it is not possible to jailbreak ChatGPT or any LLM either. The presenter is being disingenuous. At best he has modified the way the “voice” reacts to him, which anyone can do in settings.

Most commercial AI systems like OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), Microsoft (Copilot), Perplexity, etc.  all work the same way: the…[Read more]

Have a great week!

TheEncogitationer wrote:
Fellow Unbelievers, As if things couldn’t get worse, Trump is now committing the U.S. to defending a key supporter of Islamist propaganda and terrorism: Trump signs an executive order vowing to defend Qatar in the wake of Israel’s strike https://apnews.com/article/us-qatar-security-trump-israel-hamas-de391ae9bded58bffb1f5b…

[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
Over 1,700 cases of measles diagnosed in Israel

That’s close to what USA has had, and I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten more out of hand. Maybe it’ll pick up again. (Y’all heard Kennedy now blaming autism on Tylenol, linked directly to it being taken right after circumcisions, right?)

Biggest surprise to me, since Kennedy…[Read more]

Vaccine rates are well below average in the ultra-orthodox communities at about 77% and they are closely grouped the risks of measles spreading is higher. Herd immunity should be 95% or greater. Similar numbers in the US this year too. Gaines County in West Texas really suffered. Two children in Texas (unvaccinated, no underlying conditions) died…[Read more]

I thought I could finally catch up on sleep and relax a bit, but ran into this Legal AF video explaining how the SCOTUS partisan takeover has been in the cards for decades. It’s all believable to me, but I’ve never been a competent student of history, so I’m interested in any criticisms of what’s presented in this video. It feels like…[Read more]

jakelafort wrote:
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-869819

Awesome medical research, triage, and treatment news in the JP article. Extremely significant, IMO. I’ll bet lots of non-Israelis get chances to appreciate it, too. Like… almost every country in the world. If only Trump would just try it out and show us a scan asap, for…[Read more]