Interesting News, Articles & Stuff

[florduh]

You can break it down to the county level too. It turns out one of the biggest risk factors for COVID death (besides age) is who won the county you live in. Not who you personally voted for, but who the majority in your county chose.

'Red COVID'? Coronavirus deaths are highest in counties with the largest share of Trump voters

The vaccination gap between Democrats and Republicans is mirrored by a partisan divide in COVID deaths, which peaked in October

www.marketwatch.com

I won't link it here because the language is extremely politically charged, but Breitbart Editor at Large John Nolte wrote an interesting op-ed about this very subject. He argues that the Administration and the media are using reverse psychology to trick Trump supporters into not getting the vaccine. Because, in an era when elections are decided by razor thin margins, your opponents' voters dying can make the difference.

John writes,

No one wants to cave to a piece of shit like that, or a scumbag like Fauci, or any of the scumbags at CNNLOL, so we don’t. And what’s the result? They’re all vaccinated, and we’re not! And when you look at the numbers, the only numbers that matter, which is who’s dying, it’s overwhelmingly the unvaccinated who are dying, and they have just manipulated millions of their political enemies into the unvaccinated camp.

Now, I don't think this conspiracy theory makes a lot of sense. I think this Administration wants people vaxxed for the same reason the last one did. They believe it's the fastest way to put the whole pandemic in the rear view mirror, so people keep shopping, working, and travelling so we can keep this giant collection of Ponzi schemes we call an economy going.

I don't even think John believes this. He's just trying to convince his readers to get vaccinated in a way they can accept. Because he doesn't want his readership and source of ad revenue to die.

But even so. In FL, Desantis only won by 20-30,000 votes. Against a guy who was later found in a Miami hotel room with coke and a male prostitute (as is Florida tradition). It's possible that margin of victory just died over the last year or so.

 

[BrianTL]

You can break it down to the county level too. It turns out one of the biggest risk factors for COVID death (besides age) is who won the county you live in. Not who you personally voted for, but who the majority in your county chose.

Oh, in that case, if we're basing this on our counties, I'll NEVER die

But even so. In FL, Desantis only won by 20-30,000 votes. Against a guy who was later found in a Miami hotel room with coke and a male prostitute (as is Florida tradition). It's possible that margin of victory just died over the last year or so.

How am I just hearing about this now That story doesnt even ring a bell

 

[florduh]

How am I just hearing about this now That story doesnt even ring a bell

It turns out it was crystal meth and not coke. But this is still well within the norms and traditions of the Sunshine State

Andrew Gillum linked to meth overdose incident in Miami hotel, police reports state

Andrew Gillum, Tallahassee's former mayor and 2018's Democratic nominee for Florida governor, was involved in a meth overdose incident Friday morning.

www.tallahassee.com

 

[macbill]

California banks on a bold treatment: Pay drug users to stop using

When Billy Lemon was trying to kick his methamphetamine addiction, he went to a drug treatment program at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation three times a week and peed in a cup. If it tested negative for meth, he got paid about $7. As the pandemic has raged, so has the country’s drug epidemic...

www.rawstory.com

October 4th: Taco Day

National Taco Day: The history behind the handheld, fast food favorite

Here’s what you need to know about the history of the taco for National Taco Day which is being celebrated on October 4. The word "taco" apparently dates back to the 18th century in Mexican silver mines.

www.foxnews.com

 

[florduh]

Merck just put out a new antiviral drug that treats COVID, aimed at cutting hospitalization and death. They also stand to make a fortune on it.

Merck Sells Federally Financed Covid Pill to U.S. for 40 Times What It Costs to Make

The Covid-19 treatment molnupiravir was developed using funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.

theintercept.com

The 5 day course of treatment costs $17 to manufacture. Merck is selling it for $712. Now you might say, it's good and just that Merck marked the price up 40x. After all, they had to do all that research to develop the drug. Except...

Like the vast majority of medicines on the market, molnupiravir — which was originally investigated as a possible treatment for Venezuelan equine encephalitis — was developed using government funds. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a division of the Department of Defense, provided more than $10 million of funding in 2013 and 2015 to Emory University, as research done by the nonprofit Knowledge Ecology International has revealed. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, also provided Emory with more than $19 million in additional grants.

So this drug was researched and created at Emory University, funded by the Federal government. A small biotech company in Miami with no research or manufacturing facilities licensed the rights to manufacture the drug. The small shell company then flipped the rights to Merck. Now Merck will sell the very drug the government paid to create BACK to the government at a 40x markup.

A drug was created with millions in public money. Now two private corporations get to reap billions in profit off of it. And one of them isn't even making anything. They just "flipped" the rights to a drug the American people paid to create.

 

[macbill]

Special Report: How AT&T helped build far-right One America News

America’s top telecom giant nurtured OAN, the pro-Trump news channel now at the center of a bitter national divide over politics and truth.

www.reuters.com

Colorado hospital system will not perform transplants on unvaccinated patients in most cases

UCHealth said for transplant patients who contract COVID-19, the mortality rate ranges from about 20% to more than 30%.

www.cbsnews.com

In more important news, the weatherman said to "dress for the 70s" today and now I can't decide.

 

[macbill]

More people have died so far this year from COVID-19 than last year: Johns Hopkins data

COVID-19 has already killed more people this year than it did in 2020. Since Jan. 1, more than 353,000 deaths have been reported from COVID-19, about a thousand more than last year’s 352,000 …

www.nydailynews.com

 

[kel]

I've been contemplating how the UK is evolving given recent events; the exposure of just how broken and corrupt politics and society have become because of our ******* %%%%% $$$$ %%%%%%% leadership, and I think this article sums it up perfectly.

Humanoid entities with money, aggressively buying property to rent out at eye-watering profit margins, leaving the future of the country homeless unable to afford rents for their *student* accommodation.

It's like a significant portion of the UK woke up over the last few years to the idea that you don't actually have to do any work to make money, you just have to have some money and be willing to shit on other people. The end result is now far too many people are abusive landlords, business owners, etc. the irony being that there's not even any room for comparatively poor people to exist.

Look at the state of it:

Scotland's students face accommodation 'nightmare'

Student leaders are warning a lack of flats and soaring rents have created a "student housing emergency."

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[macbill]

How to store your covid card on your phone: Even if you wind up using other digital records, it’s always nice to have a backup. That said, it usually doesn’t take long before images get buried in your phone’s camera roll, so take a moment to put those vaccine card shots in dedicated albums for super-fast access.

On iPhones: Launch the Photos app, find the picture of your vaccination card, hit the Share button in the bottom-left corner, select “Add to Album,” tap “New Album” and give it a name.

On most Android phones: Launch Google Photos, find the picture of your vaccine card, tap the three-dotted menu sign in the top-right corner, tap “Add to album,” tap “New album” and give it a name.

 

[cybrguy]

I have a folder on my phone that has all my critical docs. Vaccination card, drivers license, passport, medicare and supplement card, etc. It's just a good idea, and another reason to secure your phone.

 

[florduh]

Thankfully, "Havana Syndrome" disappeared from the news. But I will once again submit that CIA operatives feeling a little shitty has nothing to do with super secret Russian space lasers that cause headaches. Their tummies hurt because their jobs involve doing shit like this...

Kidnapping, assassination and a London shoot-out: Inside the CIA's secret war plans against WikiLeaks

In 2017, as Julian Assange began his fifth year holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London, the CIA plotted to kidnap the WikiLeaks founder, spurring heated debate among Trump administration officials over the legality and practicality of such an operation.

news.yahoo.com

Some senior officials inside the CIA and the Trump administration even discussed killing Assange, going so far as to request “sketches” or “options” for how to assassinate him. Discussions over kidnapping or killing Assange occurred “at the highest levels” of the Trump administration, said a former senior counterintelligence official. “There seemed to be no boundaries.”

Remember this every time the US government condemns another authoritarian country for murdering journalists. "But Assange isn't a journalist... he's a SPY!" Yeah. That's the exact excuse Putin or Saudi Arabia uses after they merk a journalist.

“As an American citizen, I find it absolutely outrageous that our government would be contemplating kidnapping or assassinating somebody without any judicial process simply because he had published truthful information,” Barry Pollack, Assange’s U.S. lawyer, told Yahoo News.

The funny part about all of this is, it almost certainly fucked any chance of Assange getting extradited to the United States. A country that, "at the highest levels", planned to murder him in cold blood.

 

[kel]

Thankfully, "Havana Syndrome" disappeared from the news. But I will once again submit that CIA operatives feeling a little shitty has nothing to do with super secret Russian space lasers that cause headaches. Their tummies hurt because their jobs involve doing shit like this...

Kidnapping, assassination and a London shoot-out: Inside the CIA's secret war plans against WikiLeaks

In 2017, as Julian Assange began his fifth year holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London, the CIA plotted to kidnap the WikiLeaks founder, spurring heated debate among Trump administration officials over the legality and practicality of such an operation.

news.yahoo.com

Remember this every time the US government condemns another authoritarian country for murdering journalists. "But Assange isn't a journalist... he's a SPY!" Yeah. That's the exact excuse Putin or Saudi Arabia uses after they merk a journalist.



The funny part about all of this is, it almost certainly fucked any chance of Assange getting extradited to the United States. A country that, "at the highest levels", planned to murder him in cold blood.

...and yet we are supposed to trust these same governments and believe everything they say!

Just... no! Not a single phoneme of a single word they utter... they are completely and utterly untrustworthy.

I can hardly believe anyone actually voted for them, any of them!

I certainly won't put my name to any of them, by doing so I would effectively be sanctioning this kind of behaviour, again just no!!

I prefer to campaign instead for the legitimisation of votes of no confidence, unfortunately they are simply ignored under the current system and my position as a citizen is rendered null and void. All very convenient for them.

p.s. I am a little unsure what constitutes acceptable discussion here, I had a post deleted recently because it was political, yet dozens of other political posts remain, I have no way of knowing which post it was so no way of tempering my posts to fit the rules. I just have to post and pray, or something

==

edit: as a contribution to the interesting news theme here, I find it extremely interesting that this news item is the second most popular news story on the BBC today, I mean fuck global warming, the pandemic, Assange, world poverty, any of the actual crimes the police do commit, ok, I will stop there, please consider any other actually newsworthy items and then...

...contemplate the level of concern and interest in this gargantuan shocking event of global relevance:

Jaffa Cakes allegation prompts Halifax PC's misconduct hearing

PC Chris Dwyer is alleged to have taken them from a charity tuck shop without paying in full.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[florduh]

p.s. I am a little unsure what constitutes acceptable discussion here, I had a post deleted recently because it was political, yet dozens of other political posts remain, I have no way of knowing which post it was so no way of tempering my posts to fit the rules. I just have to post and pray, or something

My rule of thumb is to not get into partisan politics. I simply point out that they're virtually all crooks. There are a small number of politicians who have their hearts in the right place, but they are almost entirely powerless. So it doesn't matter. Oh, and the reason the vast majority of politicians are crooks is that they're totally bought and owned by the pedophilic corporate elite.

I also maintain that anti-war and even anti-CIA rhetoric has been part of stoner culture for at least 60 years.

Edit:

edit: as a contribution to the interesting news theme here, I find it extremely interesting that this news item is the second most popular news story on the BBC today, I mean fuck global warming, the pandemic, Assange, world poverty, any of the actual crimes the police do commit, ok, I will stop there, please consider any other actually newsworthy items and then...

@kel this reminds me of a story I heard about *football players getting arrested for stealing from their teams pension or health funds. That's not good. But the biggest thieves in professional sports will always be the owners. They steal from their employees. They steal from the government. The biggest thieves in society never get punished.

I'm glad the Yorkshire PD caught that cookie thief though.


*real football, not soccer

 

[Tranquility]

p.s. I am a little unsure what constitutes acceptable discussion here, I had a post deleted recently because it was political, yet dozens of other political posts remain, I have no way of knowing which post it was so no way of tempering my posts to fit the rules. I just have to post and pray, or something

I have been assured, repeatedly, the rules are quite clear. Especially the ones not written down.

 

[BrianTL]

Remember this every time the US government condemns another authoritarian country for murdering journalists. "But Assange isn't a journalist... he's a SPY!" Yeah. That's the exact excuse Putin or Saudi Arabia uses after they merk a journalist.

I dont remember all of the details behind the wikileaks event back in the day - from what I do remember, I wouldn't consider Assange a spy, treasonous, or guilty of Espionage.

Bradley Manning is/was a spy, and deserves death, IMO. Assange should be free to go.

p.s. I am a little unsure what constitutes acceptable discussion here, I had a post deleted recently because it was political, yet dozens of other political posts remain, I
have no way of knowing which post it was so no way of tempering my posts to fit the rules. I just have to post and pray, or something

Yeah, rules for thee, not for me. If you agree with the majority, you get a longer leash. Just the nature of the beast, no matter where you go.

My rule of thumb is to not get into partisan politics. I simply point out that they're virtually all crooks. There are a small number of politicians who have their hearts in the right place, but they are almost entirely powerless. So it doesn't matter. Oh, and the reason the vast majority of politicians are crooks is that they're totally bought and owned by the pedophilic corporate elite.

1000% with you here. Hammer meet nail

I also maintain that anti-war and even anti-CIA rhetoric has been part of stoner culture for at least 60 years.

Probably why I dont "fit in" with the standard culture ... while most people, including my own girlfriend would consider me/have called me a "stoner," I also signed the dotted line in a post 9/11 world, at 17 years old, which is unheard of where I am from. My schools guidance counselors threw a fit, called my parents weekly, supposedly I was the first one in 27 years to do that, I'm ruining their near-perfect college acceptance record, blah blah blah. I'm fairly confident that I have a different perspective than most here (not saying my perspective is better/right etc)

 

[florduh]

Bradley Manning is/was a spy, and deserves death, IMO. Assange should be free to go.

Unsurprisingly, I have a different perspective here. Mostly because there's an even better argument that Edward Snowden should be executed for espionage/treason. Not an argument I agree with though. Personally, I'm glad it's now public knowledge that the government is spying on its own citizens. I like knowing what crimes I'm paying the government to do, both at home and abroad.

The Manning shit is relevant here because...

I dont remember all of the details behind the wikileaks event back in the day - from what I do remember, I wouldn't consider Assange a spy, treasonous, or guilty of Espionage.

The government is tying Manning's crimes to Assange. Manning obtained information illegally. He turned over that information to Wikileaks. They then published it, including the infamous Collateral Murder video. The government alleges this means Wikileaks engaged in a criminal conspiracy to commit espionage.

The problem with this is every news organization publishes illegally obtained information from time to time. Wikileaks never "hacks" anything. They simply publish information from whistleblowers and hackers.

Assange is in an unfortunate position because most of the political spectrum hates him. Conservatives hate him for exposing US war crimes. Liberals hate him because they believe Wikileaks publishing Hillary's emails caused her to lose to to a game show host.

Probably why I dont "fit in" with the standard culture

I mean, I look like the squarest square in the universe. It's good OPSEC not to look like a stoner. I never get hassled by cops, and it sure helps at TSA checkpoints. But it means I've often been shunned by serious stoners who think I look like a narc.

 

[macbill]

COVID-19 Endothelial Dysfunction Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction: Histopathological, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study of the Human Penis

Kresch E, et al. World J Mens Health. 2021 Jul;39(3):466-469. https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.210055

www.wjmh.org

 

[BrianTL]

Unsurprisingly, I have a different perspective here. Mostly because there's an even better argument that Edward Snowden should be executed for espionage/treason. Not an argument I agree with though. Personally, I'm glad it's now public knowledge that the government is spying on its own citizens. I like knowing what crimes I'm paying the government to do, both at home and abroad.

Yeah, I mean I definitely agree there is an argument for Snowdens execution. I do think that most of the stuff he released should have been public in the first place, in fact I think a lot of the stuff he released needs to still be publicized more, but at the end of the day he is guilty of treason/espionage by definition.

I do "cheer" for him though, he did what he thought was right, what had to be done, and he was fully aware of the consequences - and he'd be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

Of course the .govs will try to paint him as a crazy person, traitor, spy, etc. Maybe he is. I've said it before that I am not much of a tin foil conspiracist, but if there is ANY crazy government conspiracy to eliminate/discredit/disappear somebody, I feel like it would likely revolve around Snowden. The government has every reason to want to shut him up and discredit him.

The government is tying Manning's crimes to Assange. Manning obtained information illegally. He turned over that information to Wikileaks. They then published it, including the infamous Collateral Murder video. The government alleges this means Wikileaks engaged in a criminal conspiracy to commit espionage.

The problem with this is every news organization publishes illegally obtained information from time to time. Wikileaks never "hacks" anything. They simply publish information from whistleblowers and hackers.

Right, which is why I think Manning is guilty & deserves execution, where as Assange simply reported. Not like wikileaks went in and hacked something, or HIRED Manning to get that info - that would change things IMO. Obviously I dont know the specifics, but if Assange was friends with Manning, and was like yo dude, get me some good intel to publish and I'll give you a million bucks - sure, get him on conspiracy to commit espionage.

That said, if Manning calls up Assange, hey, I got this file you might be interested in, pretty wild shit in here... that's a completely different story. What news organization WOULDNT take that opportunity?

Assange is in an unfortunate position because most of the political spectrum hates him. Conservatives hate him for exposing US war crimes. Liberals hate him because they believe Wikileaks publishing Hillary's emails caused her to lose to to a game show host.

Still doesn't make him a criminal IMO. Any whistleblower gets to a news outlet with some exclusive and juicy material, its not the outlets fault, unless it was agreed upon beforehand.

I mean, I look like the squarest square in the universe. It's good OPSEC not to look like a stoner. I never get hassled by cops, and it sure helps at TSA checkpoints. But it means I've often been shunned by serious stoners who think I look like a narc.

Oh absolutely. Undercover stoners I suppose

COVID-19 Endothelial Dysfunction Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction: Histopathological, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study of the Human Penis

Kresch E, et al. World J Mens Health. 2021 Jul;39(3):466-469. https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.210055

www.wjmh.org

Something tells me the shots are more likely to give me lifelong ED than the virus itself... plus, if you get the shots, and then you STILL get covid... you could have double ED.

 

[His_Highness]

Something tells me the shots are more likely to give me lifelong ED than the virus itself... plus, if you get the shots, and then you STILL get covid... you could have double ED.

Shall I keep you posted?

 

[BrianTL]

Shall I keep you posted?

Please do. You’ve already experienced intense enlargement, no?

 

[vtac]

p.s. I am a little unsure what constitutes acceptable discussion here, I had a post deleted recently because it was political, yet dozens of other political posts remain, I have no way of knowing which post it was so no way of tempering my posts to fit the rules. I just have to post and pray, or something

A number of posts discussing abortion were deleted. Moderating that type of debate simply isn't something the staff here is interested in doing. Please feel free to reach out to a staff member in private if you have any questions.

I have been assured, repeatedly, the rules are quite clear. Especially the ones not written down.

After 5 years, 3800+ posts and countless personal conversations on the subject with me and other staff members it's clear that you understand the rules very well, but are intent on breaking them as it suits you.

• These rules exist to keep the forum fun, informative, and manageable.
• Rules are interpreted and applied at staff discretion.
• Please do not try to circumvent the rules, they are flexible.
• Public discussions of staff decisions are not permitted on the site. If you have any concerns or queries relating to a staff decision please take it up in private with a staff member.

 

[His_Highness]

I'm for anything that keeps FC from turning into Reddit......and whatever is being done here is definitely working.

 

[BrianTL]

I'm for anything that keeps FC from turning into Reddit......and whatever is being done here is definitely working.

agreed, I very rarely dabble in Reddit, and when I do it’s always a negative experience. I take really long breaks from it and then will have a random week or so I’m into it, but then I get sick of it again.

 

[florduh]

Smaller subreddits are often good. But that will cause them to get bigger and much worse.

 

[BrianTL]

Smaller subreddits are often good. But that will cause them to get bigger and much worse.

I got banned from trees I think, left weed, the only ones I am really in are vaporents and entexchange, and in a few very random ones like cannabis news that hardly ever get posted in.