tom sarbeck

Basically NOT trying to interfere with Afghan politics in the 70s would likely have resulted in something less horrific than we have now. I am not saying it would have resulted in paradise but I doubt it would have led to a Taliban. The US has an atrocious record of interfering with democratically elected governments which were heading “too far to…[Read more]

The best strategy is meaningless if key Afghan officials work against you and others flee quickly. The ENTIRE endeavour from the moment the US government funded the Taliban during the Soviet invasion to the initial bombing just to catch one terrorist cell (who ended up hiding out in another country) was a massive failure. The occupation and…[Read more]

Biden set out his time table in April and he even delayed the withdrawl. It is one thing to disagree with the decision, it is another to say he didn’t give any warning and it is LUDICROUS, as Enco is doing, to blame previous presidents for staying and then blame they next one for leaving while implying that President didn’t give adequate time to…[Read more]

Uhhh…Enco, the plan was made months ago by Trump, Biden confirmed when he took office that he would follow through (on a slightly modified date) and then he did. I fail to see how there was no warning or heads up. Where Enco do you get your info from?

Indeed Robert. Theologians seem to aim for an extremely low threshold of “demonstrable proof” for their historical claims, both in the quality and sophistication of evidence for particular claims AND in the quantity of claims in the overall package which can be proven. It seems with many religions that if 5% of the narrative is true…then that is…[Read more]

Pretty much Jake. I do not see the 99.999999999999999% probability that something doesn’t exist as some impure insufficient disappointing conclusion. It is not only the best we can expect, but it is far also more than sufficient and yet allows the tiny microscopic potential for a surprise. This is the stance any rational person should have with…[Read more]

So you blame previous presidents for continuing to stay there but you blame Biden for leaving. I suppose in some universe that makes sense.

Simon, the fact that you cannot prove that the Easter bunny exists nor prove that it doesn’t exist does not make both statements worth taking equally or less seriously. The 99.999999999999999999999% likelihood that the Easter Bunny (as with God) does not exist is the only important argument. That we cannot 100% prove anything does not exist is a…[Read more]

Although there is overwhelming evidence that the New Testament is an accurate and trustworthy historical document

Oh my God I totally busted a gut laughing at this claim in one of the articles. LAUGH MY ASS OFF! There is evidence that a small (and VERY small) number of the historical claims are accurate. The rest is only as likely to be true as…[Read more]

That just looks to me like really long, lame list of rebuttals (and so-called “facts”) that are hardly even worth mentioning.

If I had to pick the lamest one, it might be the last one on that list called BIBLE LITERALISM. So the Discovery Institute’s motive for any work they do is to make Creationism look like science, and they do a really good…[Read more]

Hahaha. Yeah I saw another one, absolute off the wall insanity. “Drown Your Sorrows!” Hilarious and very creative story about four guys who own a bar and their original adventures. My friend laughed the whole way through and the audience went wild.

I’m going to see a Sherlock Holmes play on the weekend that has had very good reviews. I’m looking…[Read more]

I’d like to hear how the next ones turn out. I got too angry and depressed today about how humans can be so cruel or allow cruelty to exist. Meanwhile, I think that telling stories and acting them out is one of the most connecting and redeeming qualities of humans.

Indeed Reg. I cannot believe I could get a Ralph Lauren dress shirt with the price tag still on for £10. When the shops first re-opened, they where giving away months of over-donations for £1. Do you have a place called TJMax in Ireland? A fabulous outlet store.

The second-hand clothing article is not the slightest bit surprising. That is the m…[Read more]

Unseen and Robert are both correct. You can certainly make more informed choices in the market which will give you a higher chance of success. Having said that…it is still massively luck dependent and people seriously underestimate the risks involved. Nicolas Taleb does a great analysis of this in his book Black Swan where he shows that, yes,…[Read more]

I’ve actually been extremely impressed with the Scottish socialised health care. When I lived in London 20 years ago the NHS in London was I would say A- at the time (definitely nothing to really complain about though you did have to wait a couple weeks to see a doctor for a non-emergency).

Here I’ve had rapid stellar treatment, my medicine is…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
The whole problem with the American healthcare system pretty much boils down to middlemen and the profit motive.

I’d add that Americans are not concerned enough about the burden on small and large businesses to foot the bill for health coverage. It’s a very strange kludge to pay for a nation’s universal public health. Even pure…[Read more]

Yeah indeed I would call that a low-level black swan event. That is harsh unseen!

The luck/success video is stuff I have been saying for a few years now. Nicolas Taleb talked about it extensively in his book “Black Swan” over a decade ago (it should be required university reading in my opinion). Basically some talent and a lot of hard work is a must for a lot of success, but luck is an ENORMOUS ingredient in success and anyone…[Read more]