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Mock Turtle world

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member


All involved in these two incidents above are sick but the second lot are just insanely evil too. :frowning:


At least nine people have died in Taiwan after the country was hit with its strongest earthquake in 25 years. The 7.2-magnitude quake caused havoc across the country on Wednesday morning, killing at least nine and injuring more than 900 others. The earthquake was centred off the coast of the rural, mountainous Hualien County but could be felt 93 miles away in the capital of Taipei as aftershocks continued. The quake and aftershocks caused 24 landslides and damage to 35 roads, bridges and tunnels, authorities said, while dozens of people remain trapped in quarries. TV images showed neighbours and rescue workers lifting residents to safety, while train services across the island - home to 23 million people - were suspended. Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency said the quake was a magnitude of 7.2, while the US Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 7.4. It struck about 11 miles south-southwest of Hualien and was about 21 miles deep.

 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

A young woman who has depression, autism, and borderline personality disorder will end her life with euthanasia. Zoraya ter Beek, 28, lives in a small village in the Netherlands close to the German border and will take her own life with euthanasia in May. She once dreamt of becoming a psychiatrist but could never muster finishing college. Despite living with her 40-year-old boyfriend in a house with their two cats, she says she is now tired of living. A psychiatrist told her ‘there’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never gonna get any better.’ This was the point Zoraya decided she wanted to die and told The Free Post: ‘I was always very clear that if it doesn’t get better, I can’t do this anymore.’

Very sad - and as to nothing seemingly being available for her to make life bearable. :(


Some sanity eventually arrived then. :eek:


Beauty covers quite a spectrum - and so do delusional beliefs apparently. :grimacing:
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

Some good news at last with regards Turkey then. :oops:

For so long now, the opposition in Turkey has been demoralised, fractured and weak against an unbridled concentration of power and authority. The lack of checks and balances, the lack of freedom of speech, the lack of free media and the lack of the separation of powers – these all stacked the cards against anyone who dared to question the Justice and Development party (AKP) government and its religious-nationalist-populist ideology.

Now which country does this remind one of? o_O


Just so lovable, these right-wingers. :(


A 76-year-old man narrowly avoided death after being bitten by a diseased rat found lurking in his toilet bowl. The unnamed man, from Montreal, Canada, rushed to hospital after the rodent bit two of his fingers while he tried to fish it out of the loo, where he was given a tetanus jab by doctors and sent home. But 18 days later, the man was back in the hospital having experienced severe fever, headaches and abdominal pain for several days. Although his finger wounds had mostly healed, the man’s blood pressure was low and his heart was beating extremely fast. Initial blood tests showed that the patient’s kidneys were damaged and that his blood had a low number of platelets — the fragments of cells that form clots to prevent or stop bleeding. The man was admitted to the intensive care unit, where he was found to be suffering from multi-organ dysfunction and sepsis- a dangerous phenomenon in which an infection sends the immune system into overdrive. After taking blood and urine samples, it was eventually discovered he had contracted an infectious disease called leptospirosis, believed to have been transmitted by the rat bite. The man was given antibiotics, as well as other treatments to address his kidney damage and low platelet levels. After a few days, his symptoms improved and he was discharged from the ICU. People generally contract Leptospirosis after coming into contact with the urine of infected animals or with contaminated soil or water.


A pit bull owner mauled to death by his own pets died from massive blood loss and exhaustion in his back yard, a report states. The L.A. County Medical Examiner's Office states that the autopsy report for Dominic Cooper, 35, is complete and that the man's cause of death was physical weariness and blood loss, both of which were directly related to the injuries he had incurred during the mauling. The documents state that one evening at around 7 P.M., Cooper's pit bulls went on him. They claim that the biting continued for five to six minutes. Cooper managed to hide himself in an abandoned kennel after he was eventually able to escape the dogs, but it ended up being his final resting place, and his body was discovered there the next day.


A "very loved" Spanish priest was burned to death when his robe caught fire during an Easter candle-lighting vigil. Javier Sánchez has been hailed a hero for apparently protecting a group of nuns as his body was engulfed in flames during the horrific incident at a convent in the Spanish city of Zaragoza. The blaze began when an ember bowl surrounded by candles caught fire over the Easter weekend. A simple candle spark then made contact with his vestment and the blaze spread rapidly, leaving him with 50 per cents burns all over his body. He spent four days in intensive care before tragically passing away from multiple organ failure. He saved the nuns by standing between the bowl and the group of nuns as the fire caught on. Investigators believe that paraffin had been used to help the ember bowl burn. "The priest tried to protect the nuns of the convent when embers lit up in the basin that was used [for the fire] and that ultimately caused his death. Apparently a flammable substance had been used to start the fire. [The Easter Vigil] was held inside the convent," a source told El Heraldo de Aragón.
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

Meanwhile, Royal expert Jennie Bond told OK!: "It’s altogether very bad news for Andrew and, indeed, for his whole family. Beatrice, in particular, will undoubtedly be annoyed and upset that her part in setting up and monitoring the interview will now be made so much more public. And there has already been much emphasis on the fact that Andrew was delighted with the interview immediately after it was completed. How stupid does that make him look? And he won’t like that at all. So it all signals more difficult times ahead for the Yorks."

Some people are just so unaware - I guess they got a bad education. :eek:


Assisted dying is not a right-left issue, but it garners more support from MPs on the left, including Keir Starmer, and a Labour government might feel under pressure to introduce big reforms that don’t cost money given its self-imposed fiscal constraints. That is why voices like Streeting’s and Sturgeon’s are so important; we desperately need politicians willing to acknowledge that assisted dying is one of the most complex and fraught ethical questions they will ever be asked to confront.

Perhaps supported by the Left more because they have an interest in actual freedoms more so than the Right? :oops:


In one ear and out the other for many though. :rolleyes:


Perhaps removing the sources for any anger might help too. o_O
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

The chatbot was speaking complete gibberish. “To rev the virgate, it’s enley to instil group danters,” it told one user. “I’m by. I’m in. I’m for, I’m from, I’m that,” it told another. Some users joked that it had ingested acid — or too much James Joyce. Others found that it spoke like an English tourist in Marbella: “Muchas gracias for your understanding, y I’ll ensure we’re being as crystal-clear como l’eau from now on.” It was February 21, and ChatGPT was broken. OpenAI, which runs ChatGPT, admitted the problem and fixed it quickly — which is perhaps the least you’d expect from a company recently valued at $80bn. It explained that an update had “introduced a bug with how the model processes language”. Even so, ChatGPT’s less dramatic shortcomings remain a routine occurrence. It now has to answer queries with caveats and context, inserted as safety features. “Is it just me or is ChatGPT4 getting less good at its job? More and more obtuse?” physicist David Deutsch, an early adopter of tech, complained last month. ChatGPT also regularly “hallucinates” — that is, it makes up incorrect information. Asked to generate scientific abstracts, it invented 30 per cent of the references; there was no real improvement between the performance of version 3.5 and version 4.

Like all new technology there are issues but rarely are they as bad as the ones that AI is facing - as to eliminating all the bad material from LLM databases, for example - given it doesn't, and probably won't have, much of a grasp on truth or even reality. :oops:


Many of these scumbags probably just don't realise the effects of their actions or are just lacking the morality to bother as to such, even if they are poor and living in a slum as these two were. :(


I'm sure she will just love looking after him when he gets older - which isn't so far off. Meanwhile, old git fancying younger females (especially beautiful ones), meh - not so unusual. o_O


Summary: During archaeological excavations in the Schoningen open-cast coal mine in 1994, the discovery of the oldest, remarkably well-preserved hunting weapons known to humanity caused an international sensation. Spears and a double-pointed throwing stick were found lying between animal bones about ten meters below the surface in deposits at a former lakeshore. In the years that followed, extensive excavations have gradually yielded numerous wooden objects from a layer dating from the end of a warm interglacial period 300,000 years ago. The findings suggested a hunting ground on the lakeshore.



Exposure to secondhand smoke—even at small amounts—is linked with greater risk of a serious heart rhythm disorder, according to research presented at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The likelihood of atrial fibrillation increased as the duration of passive smoking lengthened. "The dangers of secondhand smoke were significant regardless of whether individuals were at home, outdoors, or at work, indicating that exposure universally elevates the risk of atrial fibrillation," said study author Dr. Kyung-Yeon Lee of Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea. "We should all make every effort to avoid spending time in smoky environments. The findings should also drive policymakers to further curb smoking in public areas and support smoking cessation programs to improve public health." Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder worldwide. Symptoms include palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. It is estimated that one in three Europeans will develop the condition during their lifetime. People with atrial fibrillation are five times more likely to have a stroke than their healthy peers.

Hopefully vaping has no such effects. :oops:

 
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Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

The Russian republic of Chechnya has banned dance music it deems either too fast or too slow, in an attempt to quash a “polluting” western influence on the conservative majority-Muslim region. Musa Dadayev, the culture minister, said “all musical, vocal and choreographic works should correspond to a tempo of 80-116 beats per minute” to make music “conform to the Chechen mentality and sense of rhythm”, according to the Russian news agency Tass. “Borrowing musical culture from other peoples is inadmissible,” Dadayev said. “We must bring to the people and to the future of our children the cultural heritage of the Chechen people. This includes the entire spectrum of moral and ethical standards of life for Chechens.” According to reports in Russian media, Dadayev set artists in the region a deadline of 1 June to rewrite any music that does not conform to the rule. The law in effect criminalises most modern dance music genres that are typically played in clubs around the world, such as house, techno, dubstep or drum’n’bass. Some hip-hop and rap, which is typically played at speeds between 60 and 140 beats per minute, would in theory still qualify for the traditional Chechen “sense of rhythm” that the regime of the authoritarian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, wants to preserve. Traditional Chechen music includes khalkaran yish – instrumental songs used to accompany dances, processions and horse races – and heroic epic ballads known as illi yish. They can be accompanied by the dechig-pondar, a three-stringed instrument similar to the Russian balalaika. Chechnya, in the North Caucasus region of eastern Europe, has in recent years been repeatedly criticised by human rights organisations for its violent persecution of sexual minorities. The Chechen government has denied such allegations, claiming there were no homosexual people in Chechnya, and those who did exist would be rooted out by their own families.

This of course should apply to all countries so that we don't have any of this nasty cross contamination of cultures - such that we might never ever have to listen to Chechen music too. :eek:

Mind you, I wouldn't miss techno, dubstep, and the others mentioned either - but some might. :oops: I would no doubt be so much better off for never having listened to the Blues and Jazz, or to Indian, Chinese, or Japanese music too. :cry: And of course there are no homosexuals in Chechnya, just as in so many other countries. Big Brother Russia at work! :mad:


A three-year-old girl who got hold of her father’s unsecured gun fatally shot herself in the eye. Kayden Barnes suffered a gunshot wound to her right eye in her home in Philadelphia’s East Germantown area on Saturday afternoon. The Pennsylvania city’s medical examiner’s office notified police that Kayden died around 2.31am on Monday, NBC Philadelphia reported.


Cyflufenamid – fungicide – used in 24 approved pesticide products
Cyflumetofen – acaricide – used in one approved pesticide product
Diflufenican – herbicide – used in 143 approved pesticide products
Flazasulfuron – herbicide – used in 26 approved pesticide products
Flonicamid – insecticide – used in 15 approved pesticide products
Fluazifop-P – herbicide – used in three approved pesticide products
Fluazinam – fungicide – used in 46 approved pesticide products
Flufenacet – herbicide – used in 127 approved pesticide products
Fluopicolide – fungicide – used in one approved pesticide product
Fluopyram – fungicide – used in 25 approved pesticide products
Flutolanil – fungicide – used in five approved pesticide products
Lambda-Cyhalothrin – insecticide – used in 50 approved pesticide products
Mefentrifluconazole – fungicide – used in 14 approved pesticide products
Oxathiapiprolin – fungicide – used in 10 approved pesticide products
Penthiopyrad – fungicide – used in nine approved pesticide products
Picolinafen – herbicide – used in 15 approved pesticide products
Prosulfuron – herbicide – used in 10 approved pesticide products
Pyroxsulam – herbicide – used in six approved pesticide products
Sulfoxaflor – insecticide – used in one approved pesticide product
Tau-Fluvalinate – insecticide – used in eight approved pesticide products
Tefluthrin – insecticide – used in two approved pesticide products
Tembotrione – herbicide – used in one approved pesticide product
Tetraconazole – fungicide – used in one approved pesticide product
Trifloxystrobin – fungicide – used in 45 approved pesticide products
Triflusulfuron-methyl – herbicide – used in 29 approved pesticide products
Not that any of these means anything to me. o_O
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
Evidence trajectory, for little belief in God and less belief in any religions:

I no doubt didn't follow this exact path in sequence but most apply as to why I have my own particular beliefs - and with some knowledge being necessary to aid decision making, as per (*) below - much of which only became available over the course of my life. And no doubt I have commented similarly in the past but in different ways.

(1) Science in general, and especially astronomy, astrophysics, physics, the physical sciences, and all the applied science and technology involved in such.
(2) All the various sciences dealing with the ages of things, whether living or not.
(3) The Theory of Evolution, and the abundance of evidence which supports this.
(4) Zoology, biology, human and animal behaviour.
(5) Human biology and anatomy, and as to bacterial and viral sciences.
(6) Studies as to genetics, human behaviour, and psychology.
(7) Historical evidence and studies from social science.
(8) Game theory.


1. As to the structure of the universe (that which we know already) being so immense and our particular little world being so minute in comparison, but where planets are just too common also, even some that might support life. (1)

2. As to the age of the universe, of our particular solar system and the Earth, and of life on Earth. (1)(2)

3. As to the evolution of all species on Earth, even if we haven't solved where and how life originated. (2)(3)

4. As to how we have so much in common with much of non-human life (hence supporting evolution), even while so many religious beliefs are trying to drive a wedge between humans and all other life (humans purported to be so special of course). (4)

5. As to our actual dependence upon so much other life - not just as to food but also as to our biology, and where such indicates that all life co-evolved. (5)

6. As to how so much of human behaviour can be explained without recourse to God or similar beliefs (our evolution, spread of abilities, personality types, experiences, etc.). (6)

7. As to religious beliefs likely just being a part of our human development (because we often adhere to that which might make sense rather than that which is definitely true). (6)

8. As to religions apparently not being that effective (so long in existence but little change in human behaviour). (6)(7)

9. As to religions causing much conflict over time and which still occurs (often just between the various religions too). (7)

10. As to many religions seemingly holding back progress rather than doing good (ludicrous beliefs as to the young age of humans and/or the Earth, as to Adam and Eve ever existing and the Flood being factual, etc., and as to patriarchy (the Taliban, for example) or as to rigid gender and sexuality issues, for example. (1)(2)(6)(7)

11. As to claims over morality being from God or defined by various religions, when much of this is just bias and holding back progress, and where morality is likely to have just been a product of our social natures and having duly evolved as for much else. (4)(6)(7)(8)

12. As to the variety of religious beliefs filling the spectrum for such beliefs, and perhaps where some are expecting the survival of a winner (their particular belief system), even if such is a rather reckless or dangerous view to have. (6)

13 As to spiritual issues - the soul and such - given that I have not come across enough evidence to persuade me that a soul actually exists, other than as a descriptive term and made up of a person's personality, behaviour, and beliefs perhaps. (6)

14. As to anything from religious scriptures - angels, demons, miracles, etc. existing now or in the past - not enough evidence, and witness reports from long ago are hardly what we would consider evidence these days, especially when the writers avowing such are likely to have an agenda - to give provenance to, and to spread a particular religion. (6)(7)

15. Plenty are able to live satisfactory lives without any sort of religious belief, perhaps having more autonomy or never feeling such a need, and where such is not necessarily harmful - and which is more likely these days to show up well against those who do have religious beliefs. (4)(7)

And of course these don't necessarily apply to all religious beliefs.
 
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Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

It seems to me, and no doubt I might be wrong (given I have never been other than a male with typical male experiences) - that we have issues as to how permanent might be the feelings as to wanting to be other (as to those who have such from an early age); the changes as to how we feel and experience ourselves and others over time as we develop; as to the legality of decisions and as to consequences of such, if such results in a wrong outcome; and as to the issues of balancing the appropriate treatment started early enough when such wants might change later, so rather complex. But the glib, and just wrong, 'there are only two sexes' mostly comes from religions or those not so well informed. :oops:


A powerful flesh-eating ‘zombie’ drug sweeping the US has infiltrated Britain’s illegal drug market, experts have warned. Xylazine, also known as ‘tranq dope’, had already been linked to one death in the UK but researchers have now identified 10 more linked to the substance. In most cases it is mixed with strong opioids such as heroin or fentanyl, but it has also been detected in fake prescription tablets, THC vapes and cocaine. The drug can cause a dangerously low heartrate and compromise users’ airways, and may also cause large open skin ulcers which can rot and lead to limb amputation. Dr Caroline Copeland, senior author of a new study published in the journal Addiction, said: ‘We now know that xylazine has penetrated the UK’s illicit drug market. This is cause for alarm as a much wider population of people who use drugs beyond heroin users will be exposed to its harms. We also know that most people who buy heroin will not intend to buy xylazine and this combination increases the risk of overdose. Xylazine was designated an “emerging threat” to the United States and this public health threat is a growing concern for the UK.’


Seems more like a despicable twat, but that is what religion sometimes involves, and probably not read Les Misérables either. o_O


About as likely as us being on Mars in the next few decades probably. :rolleyes:

Comment: It's already smarter than him. And they both hallucinate. Win win!

 
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Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
Scientific and technological changes within my lifetime - updated. :oops:

The end of trams and trolley buses; Transistor invented - valve devices are mostly history; First use of nuclear power for electricity generation and propulsion systems; The nature of DNA discovered; Development of the Hydrogen bomb; The development of psycho-pharmaceutical drugs; Widespread adoption of TV, and colour TV later; First satellites launched; Development of the integrated circuit; Greater adoption of car ownership; Change from steam to diesel trains; Fading out of steam locomotives altogether; Development of the hovercraft and the hydrofoil; Last common use of the horse and cart in the UK; Polio vaccine developed; Birth control pill developed; Jet airliner developed; Development of the heart pacemaker; First human in space; Full understanding of Plate Tectonics developed; Pulsars and Gamma-ray bursts discovered; The laser developed; Widespread adoption of audio recording technology; First man on the moon; World's first solar power station built; Development of fibre optics for communications; Widespread use of credit cards; First supersonic passenger aeroplane in service; Advent of portable music players; First use of IVF; Widespread use of microwave ovens; Development of the Scanning Tunnelling microscope; First home computers available; Widespread use of plane travel; Development and use of satellites, planetary probes, space vehicles, space telescopes, and space stations; First CT and MRI scanners developed; Development of DNA fingerprinting; First CD players, digital music, and video-taping technology; Development of DNA testing; First eradication of a disease (smallpox); Advent of digital photography; Development of the internet; Widespread use of GPS systems and associated mapping technology; Development of cruise missiles using GPS technology; First animal cloned (Dolly, the sheep); First transplants of human organs and limbs; Development of solar cell and wind technology; Development of laptop computers and similar devices; Human genome mapped; Development of surround-sound systems; Further development of portable music players; Widespread use of mobile phones and smartphones; Widespread use of cashless payment systems; Widespread use of radio time-keeping; LHC particle accelerator built; Development of virtual reality technology; Development of 3D TV; Widespread adoption of internet shopping; Widespread use of Social Networks on the internet and via mobiles; Development of cochlear implants to overcome deafness; Development of robotic systems and autonomous automobiles; Discovery that planetary objects, such as exoplanets and moons, are very common; 3D printing developed; Development of streaming services as regarding music and video; Development of LED lighting; Development of Bluetooth and noise-cancelling technology; Automated check-outs introduced; Development of electric and hybrid automobiles; Development of drones - for surveillance and as weapons of war; Laser weapons developed; Gene editing developed using Crispr: Gravitational waves detected for first time; Development of hydrofoil systems in yachting, especially in competitions such as the America's Cup, and as to catamarans and trimarans; Genetic testing as to ancestry or predisposition to various diseases available; Development of personal jet packs; Development of facial and audio recognition technology; Development of robotic surgery; Development of AI systems, especially LLMs, and as to deep-faking imagery and sounds, and as to enhancing science in many ways; Development of intelligent artificial limbs; First image of a black hole captured; Development of quantum computer technology.
 
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ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Development of robotic surgery;

For information. My husband was the 6th person in France to undergo robotic surgery. In 2017 he had a radical prostatectomy, the surgeon was a DaVinci medical robot controlled by 2 technicians and supervised by his oncologist.
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
For information. My husband was the 6th person in France to undergo robotic surgery. In 2017 he had a radical prostatectomy, the surgeon was a DaVinci medical robot controlled by 2 technicians and supervised by his oncologist.
I hope all went well.
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

Hardly the first - a well-known incident long ago (1927) featured the dancer Isadora Duncan, and where she too was strangled - by her scarf being entangled with rotating parts of the car and actually being dragged out of the vehicle - which was apparently an early sports/racing type car. :eek:


Tough! Wealthy idiot doesn't like the fact that others have different views than herself - so what's new? o_O



This TV programme (UK) I find raises laughs, being a bit slapstick and rather over-the-top, and almost achieves the same as to some beliefs on RF. :oops:


 
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Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

Many white feminists thought it was their mission to help emancipate Muslim women and girls from a particular type of patriarchy tied to Islam. I quit the group. If Muslim women were enduring a specific form of patriarchal oppression, and really had no agency or free will when it came to wearing the hijab – a view I don’t share – how would it help them to exclude them from schools and access to emancipatory knowledge?

Perhaps because it gives a clear message, to countries like Iran and others which insist on their rules, so as to encourage Muslims to come to a country where they are actually more free to express themselves (as to anything other than hijabs, niqabs, burqas, and such), and which is not possible in so many majority-Muslim countries.

To me, the preoccupation with the hijab seemed to be a condescending way of singling out a mainly non-white group of females as if they were not affected by the same forms of patriarchy as other women. I took the view that we had to listen to what women and girls wanted for themselves before explaining their experience through the lens of cultural domination.

Take this attitude to so many majority-Muslim countries and see how far you get. :rolleyes:

But 2004 marked a significant shift in the understanding of the secularism principle, by requiring users of state schools to be neutral about religion, or at least discreet about their beliefs. Education was the only public service to which the 2004 rule applied.

Perhaps because children might need more protections than adults, given they often don't have a voice within many Muslim cultures.

While the 2004 law was framed as a ban on all “conspicuous” religious symbols, including large Christian crosses, in practice it was targeted at expressions of Islam. As such, it has, over the past 20 years, opened the door to the pursuit of an unrelenting Islamophobia, embodied in a fixation on Muslim women and girls’ appearance.

You might want to ask why so many Muslims want to present females as so different (less choice in what they wear and other freedoms) and perhaps simply due to the patriarchy that is endemic in much of Islamic teaching? o_O

The message to all Muslims is clear: assimilate or stay out of the public sphere. It is no great surprise that an increasing number of Muslim individuals are voting with their feet and opting to leave France.

And where such might be copied elsewhere, when Muslims perhaps are often more trouble than any benefits they might bring.

The positive news is that Muslims, and especially Muslim women, have, in the past 20 years found their own ways to resist, creating organisations such as Lallab, which challenges narratives about Muslim women; Mamans Toutes Egales (Mums Are All Equal) which supports hijab-wearing mothers to be involved in their children’s school lives; and Les hijabeuses, a hijab-wearing women’s soccer team.

Great. When are they going to do this in countries such as Afghanistan or Iran, for example? :(

Luckily, younger generations tend to reject the way that the principle of laïcité has been perverted. Let us hope they can build a future that is inclusive and welcoming for every citizen – whatever they choose to place on their heads. Only when this is achieved will we have an authentically secular French state and a free society.

And the same applying to all the majority-Muslim countries? Not a hope in Hell! :oops: The freedoms seem a bit one-sided to me. o_O


Some people unfortunately seem easily swayed as to enabling any screwing with their minds. :disappointed:


Americans are convinced that they are living in a world ravaged by crime. In major cities, we fear riding public transportation or going out after dark. We buy weapons for self-defense and skip our nightly jogs. Next to the weather, the explosion of crime is a favorite topic of conversation. The overwhelming consensus is that crime is only getting worse. According to a Gallup poll, in late 2022, 78 percent of Americans contended that there was more crime than there used to be. These perceptions would make sense if they were accurate, but they aren’t. Crime, in fact, is down in the U.S., rivaling low levels that haven’t been seen since the 1960s. According to FBI data, violent crime rates dropped by 8 percent and property crime dropped by about 6 percent by the third quarter of last year, compared with the same period in 2022. Still, the reality of these optimistic statistics doesn’t quell people’s fears.

 
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Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

We’ve been warned before about the dangers of using QR codes without checking them first – but it seems that people are still doing it. New research shows that almost three quarters of Brits (72%) just point and scan, while only one in six people (16%) are aware they risk being scammed. A QR code stuck on a wall or lamp post doesn’t scream legitimacy, but nearly a quarter admitted scanning a sticker in a public place, while 23% of people had done so to access public WiFi. So it seems a good time for a reminder about why it’s not exactly a great idea. We asked cybersecurity expert Adrianus Warmenhoven from NordVPN to explain. He warned that people could scan a dodgy QR code and have their phone infected without even realising it. It could take months before problems appeared, by which time they would be unlikely to connect it to a QR code they absentmindedly pointed their phone at.

Good job I haven't got such on my phone then - and no doubt a great idea but poor for security. :eek:


Which people? Given that most of us who have liked these - if one has good teeth - would probably have been fully aware as to what they were. I'd probably be a bit annoyed if I had been deceived for so long and I was really eating the genitals of a pig or some other animal. o_O


Introducing Lucy as one of the show contestants, Jimmy remarked: "Lucy and Jon are married. So I know Lucy, everyone watching at home is dying to know... What made you decide to settle?" And Lucy then quipped: "I don't see this for life." Continuing, Lucy said: “Isn't it a song - just passing through? Is it? … You meet in your life old souls, new souls... A***holes." She went on to declare that she and Jon “had a lovely life together” - but then foreshadowed: “Who knows what will happen in the future." Jon even then joked at the time: “Are you breaking up now?"

Well, they both seem to have issues, so not surprising as to their compatibility not lasting - even if both are quite talented comedians. :disappointed:


Many living in Blue Zones usually stick to just one small meal in the late afternoon or early evening, while only eating until they are 80% full - hence the name of the hack. This helps avoid any 'food coma' feelings that you may relate to after stuffing your face at the dinner table, and helps them keep moving throughout the day.

Not sure this works, given the numbers all around the world who do this, and eat less, because they just can't afford food, and yet die young.
 
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Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

The above is quite long but worth reading. As described in the article as to Evy, this was on the radio recently, and no doubt this happened in many other places too but in different forms. :frowning:

Nowak-Vogl, a conservative Catholic, had wanted to see if epiphysan [an extract derived from the pineal glands of cattle which veterinarians used to suppress estrus in mares and cows] would suppress sexual feelings in children, as well as discourage masturbation, thus rendering her charges more “manageable.” Masturbation — among both adolescents and young children, who use it to self-soothe — was a preoccupation of Nowak-Vogl’s. So was bed-wetting. Her staff was instructed to keep charts documenting urination and bowel movements, and to check children’s underwear “with the eyes or the nose.” Schreiber described her as being “on a crusade against masturbation and sexual excitedness.”

The commission report also mentioned “bans on speaking” and a “criminalization of feelings” when residents tried to socialize. Schreiber, who contributed to the report, wrote, “Friendships and expressions of affection for other children and young people were frowned upon and prevented, often interpreted as sexualized behavior.” The report included a document that listed Nowak-Vogl’s house rules from 1979 and 1980. Twelve pages long and printed in a tiny font, it is perverse in its despotic specificity. Personal belongings, including books and dolls, were taken away upon arrival. Children had to clean their plates scrupulously: “Only bones, cartilage, and bay leaves may be placed to the side.” Unfinished food was to be presented at the next meal, and the next, until it was eaten. “Romping, whistling, screaming, and singing” were forbidden. “There is absolute silence when the soup is served,” the document noted. “Even marginal remarks or seemingly justified questions are not allowed to pass.” Staff members were instructed “to make mealtimes as short as possible and not to sit down with the children out of inertia.” The monitoring of toilet habits was described in exhaustive detail, and there was even a rule about how toothpaste should be “sparingly pushed between the bristles” of a child’s brush.

Nowak-Vogl was born, as Maria Vogl, in 1922 in Kitzbühel, a medieval town near Innsbruck which is popular with skiers. Her father, Alfred, was a juvenile-court judge. When the Nazis occupied northern Italy, from 1943 to 1945, Alfred presided over a Sondergericht, or special court, in Bolzano. Nowak-Vogl never wrote about her childhood, but, given her father’s role in the regime, she was likely steeped in Nazi conceptions of aberrance. Gerald Steinacher, a historian of Austria at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, told me that the Sondergerichte existed to intimidate the populace and stamp out resistance, whether it be “a negative comment about the local Nazi leader or listening to Radio London.” Such courts, Steinacher said, “made a mockery of justice,” briskly issuing harsh sentences, including death.

During the war, Nowak-Vogl attended a Nazi-run teacher-training school. She studied medicine at the University of Innsbruck, and went on to receive a doctorate in educational philosophy there, in 1952. Six years later, she obtained a Habilitation - the highest academic qualification in many European countries - in the field of Heilpädagogik, or curative pedagogy. Throughout the German-speaking world in the early twentieth century, Heilpädagogik was an influential approach to treating “difficult” children. The goal of the field, which relied on close collaboration among medical experts, the courts, the state, the police, and the youth-welfare system, was less to help individual children feel understood than to turn them into productive, rule-abiding, sexually regulated members of society. Heilpädagogik had stressed biology from the beginning - inherited traits and inborn constitutions were seen as important reasons that children became resistant - but the Austrian school of curative pedagogy, which developed in the thirties, placed a particular emphasis on the hereditary component.

Perhaps it takes religion (and some Nazism) to get such things so wrong. o_O
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

Oh dear! Are we going to see Iran smacked at last and the dethroning of the despicable regime in place? :eek:


Clare Pritchard, Labour’s candidate for the Peel ward on Hyndburn Borough Council, shared a photo of Princess Diana on May 6 2023 and said she was, ‘Forever Queen of the peoples hearts’ and ‘A true Queen NOT some jumped up old whore.’

So, a deluded idiot - not likely to vote for her even if she was my prospective Labour candidate then. o_O


I'm sure many will believe it when they produce such a product.


Has Iran ever tested any such weapons? But perhaps best not to find out. :oops:


Health care providers and patients have traditionally thought that infections patients get while in the hospital are caused by superbugs they're exposed to while they're in a medical facility. Genetic data from the bacteria causing these infections – think CSI for E. coli – tells another story: Most health care-associated infections are caused by previously harmless bacteria that patients already had on their bodies before they even entered the hospital. Research comparing bacteria in the microbiome – those colonizing our noses, skin and other areas of the body – with the bacteria that cause pneumonia, diarrhea, bloodstream infections and surgical site infections shows that the bacteria living innocuously on our own bodies when we're healthy are most often responsible for these bad infections when we're sick.
 
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Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

Netanyahu’s wisest course would be to hold up the attacks to the world as supposed incontrovertible proof of his hawkish view: that Iran is a malign, dangerous rogue state that flouts international law and imperils Israel, Arab and western states. Instead of blindly lashing out – for example, at Iran’s nuclear facilities – he should argue that the Islamic republic’s hardline leadership and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have shown their true colours – and deserve collective, international punitive action.


Humankind's two closest primate relatives are often said to embody contrasting sides of our nature: peace-loving bonobos versus violence-prone chimpanzees. But a new study out Friday in Current Biology says it's not that simple. Male bonobos in fact fight each other more often than male chimps do—and the bonobo "bad boys" who have more dust-ups also see greater mating success. Lead author Maud Mouginot of Boston University told AFP she decided to investigate the question of aggression among bonobos after prior research revealed a "reproductive skew" among males, meaning some fathered far more offspring than others. "So the question was, if bonobos are not that aggressive, how can they have such a high reproductive skew?" she said. Since their recognition as a species distinct from chimpanzees, bonobos have been romanticized for their free-spirited nature. Part of their reputation as "hippies" stems from how they use sex as a means of conflict resolution and often have same sex couplings, especially among females. They're also more likely to share food than chimps.


The researchers were surprised to see how frequently participants thought they had been awake when they were actually sleeping ("paradoxical insomnia") and in the deeper, slow-wave phase of sleep. This work builds upon similar previous findings and has important implications for how scientists understand the architecture of sleep, as well as for people who report insomnia.


Far from being engaged in diplomatic activity, the consulate served as a command and control centre used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to supervise its nexus of terrorist activities throughout the region. This is why no Iranian diplomats were reported killed in the attack, which has been widely attributed to the Israelis. Those who died were high-ranking members of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, a unit that reports directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The unit was established by the ayatollahs for the purpose of exporting Iran’s Islamic revolution throughout the Muslim world. To this day, a banner depicting Qasem Soleimani, the Quds Force chief assassinated in a drone strike undertaken by the Trump administration in 2020, adorns the security fence guarding the diplomatic compound.

Well one of their mouth-monkeys seemed to say it was a joke really - as to getting rid of all their old and worn-out weapons - so they could surprise Israel with the startling new stuff they get/will be getting from Russia, China, or North Korea perhaps. And such might of course be true - given it has made them look rather foolish if it was known that hardly any of the weapons would get through and what they did was mostly for the consumption of their gullible supporters. But then the Russian stuff used against Ukraine hasn't been that good either.
 
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Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

Liz Truss has endorsed Donald Trump to win this year's US presidential election, saying the "world was safer" when he was in the White House. The UK's shortest-serving prime minster said the world was "on the cusp of very, very strong conflict" and needed "a strong America more than ever". Her comments came as the first of Mr Trump's four criminal trials began in New York. Mr Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for November's election. Ms Truss, who recently spoke at a pro-Trump conference in the US, said the West's "opponents feared the Trump presidency more" than the Democrats under Joe Biden.

:D Thus enhancing her reputation as the most pointless and idiotic PM ever to have graced our shores, just as Trump has been the worst such in the history of the USA. :oops:

Ms Truss was speaking ahead of the publication of her new book, setting out her political philosophy and the dramatic short stint in Downing Street. She argued she was forced out of office after 49 days by powerful establishment figures, including in the civil service. Ms Truss stood down in October 2022, after Tory MPs revolted against her when a series of U-turns on her economic plan sapped her of authority. Her brief time in power made her the shortest-serving prime minister in Britain's history. She denied her fall from office was humiliating, saying: "It was difficult. Absolutely. Was it humiliating? I wouldn't use that word actually."

No, laughable and defining might be the words - as to her beliefs and abilities. o_O


I feel sorry for her, but she had a job to do, and one that did involve some real risks to others, even if Baldwin might have pulled the trigger. How would he have known that there were live rounds in the weapon? It was her job to ensure that the weapons used were safe.


Trumpy has found that politics is just so boring after all? Time to give up? :oops:

 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member

A Muslim student at a London school has lost a High Court challenge against its ban on prayer rituals. Michaela School in Wembley was taken to court by the girl over the policy, which she argued was discriminatory. The non-faith state secondary school previously told the High Court that allowing prayer rituals risked "undermining inclusion" among pupils. The free school's founder and head teacher Katharine Birbalsingh said the ruling was a "victory for all schools". In an 83-page written judgment dismissing the student's case, Mr Justice Linden said: "The claimant at the very least impliedly accepted, when she enrolled at the school, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion." About half the school's roughly 700 pupils are Muslim, the court previously heard. Students are expected to adhere to strict rules including focusing on teachers extensively during lessons and remaining silent in corridors, as well as observing restrictions on uniforms. The school is rated as outstanding by Ofsted. In March 2023, up to 30 students began praying in the school's yard, using blazers to kneel on, the High Court heard. Pupils are not allowed to gather in groups of more than four, including in the school yard. The school introduced the ban in the same month due to concerns about a "culture shift" towards "segregation between religious groups and intimidation within the group of Muslim pupils", the court was told. There is no legal requirement for schools to allow pupils a time or a place to pray. This judgment supports the right of individual schools, head teachers and school governors to make a decision about what is best for their own pupils.

My position - keep religions out of schools, even as to not allowing faith schools, but I know this is hardly popular or will happen soon, if ever - but we can at least make it less likely for religious differences to exist or become the norm and it all starts in schools. If there was one religion that seems to have gone overboard in its proselytising/advertising/protecting itself, it is Islam - what with the easy entry to the religion, the not-so-easy exit (for many, and being apostasy), blasphemy (punishment of such often being extreme), the dress codes (often ludicrous), the separation between males and females, and the five-times-a-day prayers to make sure the religion is kept firmly in mind at all times. Almost as if the message alone is not good enough - or that those who formed the religion tried to cover all aspects, so perhaps learning (too much) from previous faiths. o_O


I doubt this will work and perhaps the best policy is to just ban smoking (and vaping) all together, but this will never happen either, apart from as to certain locales.

The UK's approach is thought to have been inspired by a policy in New Zealand. The country's previous government planned to ban anyone born after 2008 from buying cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime. But, in November 2023, the current government said it will scrap the law to help fund tax cuts. Mexico has some of the strictest anti-smoking laws in the world, including smoking bans at beaches, parks and in some cases private homes. Portugal aims to have a "smoke-free generation" by 2040, and wants to pass a law that would stop bars, cafes and petrol stations from selling tobacco products. Canada is hoping to reduce tobacco use to less than 5% by 2035 and earlier this year, became the first country to rule that health warnings should be printed on individual cigarettes.


“The laws around physical punishment as they stand are unjust and dangerously vague,” said Prof Andrew Rowland, a consultant paediatrician, who is the college’s officer for child protection. “They create a grey area in which some forms of physical punishment may be lawful and some are not.” The vagueness created by the “lack of legislative clarity … makes it extremely challenging to talk to families about what the rules are on physical punishment of children, thus making it more difficult to talk about the best interests of their children”, he added. Rowland said that he saw children “sometimes once a week” at his clinics in Manchester who had been hit by a parent. “I see children who have been physically punished with a smack or a slap [or] sometimes with an implement. They can be hit on their leg, arm, back or bottom. “I’ve seen children who have been hit with a belt or blunt implement from the kitchen, like a spoon, or cables from a phone or laptop charger that’s been used as a whip. That can leave a child needing medical attention for an injury such as a bruise, open wound or even a fracture. “I’ve seen this happen to children aged two to 18. This is wrong for all children, no matter what the circumstances, and it leaves them upset, angry and confused. It shouldn’t happen.” Bess Herbert, an advocacy specialist at the campaign group End Corporal Punishment, said “hundreds of studies” had found that, besides physical and mental harm, the damage from being smacked could include poorer cognitive development, a higher risk of dropping out of school, increased aggression and perpetrating violence and antisocial behaviour as adults. Sixty-five countries had banned smacking and 27 others had committed to doing the same, Rowland said. “England and Northern Ireland are out of step, internationally speaking.” The NSPCC backed the college’s call. “All children deserve the same protection from assaults as adults,” said Joanna Barrett, the charity’s associate head of policy.

England always seems to be the last to progress in such things all too often. :rolleyes:


From what I have seen, there are some very impressive AI images of beautiful females but these here aren't them.


I'm sure many of us couldn't care less what happens to him, as long as he is out of our consciousness and not in any position as to leadership or power. I think that in the opinion of so many he will be the worst president that the USA will have had, and the fact that he is supported by so many is just appalling. :eek:
 
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