Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
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Tuesday, August 31. 2021Tuesday morning linksCape Cod: eight great white sharks seen feeding on humpback whale carcass. Expert marvels at ‘biggest smorgasbord a shark could dream of’ Epoch: 800-Year-Old Medieval Chain Mail Vest From Norman Period Discovered in Longford, Ireland Epoch keeps getting better, but $. Greedy capitalists. HHS Plans To Treat Climate Crisis As Public Health Crisis LA Teacher's Union President: 'Our babies may not have learned all their times tables' but 'they know the words insurrection and coup' Obama Education Secretary Loses His Mind, Compares Anti-Maskers To Kabul Suicide Bombers They Openly Mock Us Now: Taliban Hangs “Traitor” by the Throat From US Helicopter in Kandahar Left Behind by Joe Biden Biden Will Fund Taliban Through "Humanitarian Aid" American University of Afghanistan Students Struggle to Flee the Country Playing the Race Card on Larry Elder. Engaging in shameful duplicity regarding crime and policing, the media attempt to portray the California gubernatorial candidate as anti-black. Kamala Harris: The absentee VP by design The Story About Biden Checking His Watch During Dignified Transfer Just Got a Lot Worse Did not like being there Trackbacks
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Re: Elder
Herschel Walker is running for the Senate in Georgie. Let the sexual misconduct charges begin because they can't use the 'racist card'. Gotta fall back to their usual strategy. re LA Teacher's Union President: 'Our babies may not have learned all their times tables' but 'they know the words insurrection and coup'
re HHS Plans To Treat Climate Crisis As Public Health Crisis re Obama Education Secretary Loses His Mind, Compares Anti-Maskers To Kabul Suicide Bombers re Biden Will Fund Taliban Through "Humanitarian Aid" These only today's examples of our ruling class implementing ideology while ignoring reality. We all just stand by and watch in horror as institution after institution is wrecked and the design margins in the economy disappear. We keep hoping we can change it all at the ballot box. How's that working out for us? As US Schools Prioritize Diversity Over Merit, China Is Becoming the World’s STEM Leader
https://quillette.com/2021/08/19/as-us-schools-prioritize-diversity-over-merit-china-is-becoming-the-worlds-stem-leader/ >Epoch keeps getting better, but $. Greedy capitalists.
An unfortunate, but understandable, response to being demonetized by Google. Epoch Times is well worth the money. You get online access plus the weekly home-delivered paper. My wife is a non-computer person. She reads the paper from cover-to-cover every week.
I have an online subscription and their monthly magazine, which is a gem.
" ...the media attempt to portray the California gubernatorial candidate as anti-black." Soooooo, a black man is "anti-black????? As I keep saying, I don't KNOW if the media is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democrat Party, or if it's the othe way round, but it's OBVIOUS that they are in CAHOOTS...and sleep in the same beds, together.
Humanitarian aid to the Taliban is an oxymoron. The solution is to shut down the NGOs and deny "humanitarian aid" so as not to fund the Taliban. If hordes of "refugees" show up, round them up and send them back asap, rinse and repeat as often as necessary. It's a whole lot cheaper than supporting them.
Everyone keeps getting it wrong. It isn't "anti-,askers". They do not care if you choose to wear a mask or not. They are in that way pro-mask and pro-civil rights. Wear two masks if you want to, wear three, we don't care. Do not try to use force to make me wear a mask ESPECIALLY since we know they don't work they are merely a psychotic 'tic' and an opportunity to be a 'Karen'. Don't involve me in your psychosis. Wear your mask, feel safe, whistle past graveyards, just leave us normal people alone.
If you believe masks have no effect then you are sticking to sources that only tell you one side of the story. There are studies that demonstrate mask effectiveness as a partial strategy. You just won't find them at certain sites.
Hospitals and clinics are likely to require masks going forward regardless of what happens with covid, because they have the numbers on the reduction of many contagious illnesses. They found this out as a secondary effect, not one they were looking for. So get used to it. And don't hurt yourself twisting into a pretzel trying to convince yourself that masks stop everything except covid. We do lots of things that don't seem all that useful until they suddenly are: wear seatbelts or life vests, buy insurance or take CPR classes. MF usually won't let me post links, blocking them as spam, but here goes: If you go to lymanstoneky's twitter account and status with this number
/1433049848153092097?s=21 Masks work. It is hard to measure, as the thread shows, but they work "Partial strategy" Meaning... what?
Cloth masks at best will filter out 8% of germs and virus you exhale. At worst they filter out zero but become deadly themselves. It takes about 7-15 virus to infect you. The head of a pin can hold millions of virus as they are quite small. An infected person can exhale, cough or sneeze millions of virus. Now quick math tells you that 8% of millions far exceeds the 7-15 virus necessary to infect you. SO HOW do cloth masks "protect" you??? Not do they work a little! Not do they offer "some" protection! BUT, how do cloth masks protect you??? If you still get sick while wearing them isn't that the definition of "they don't work"??? Almost everyone of the 100 million plus who got covid and the over 600,000 who died from covid were abiding by the mask and distance mandates. Did the cloth masks "protect" them??? Of course not, but the ironic answer is that they may have prevented 8% of the virus that killed them from entering their body while allowing 92% in. The greater risk from communicable viruses may be in what you touch and entering your body through your eyes, These two access routes are probably more dangerous than merely breathing in normal social circumstances. Where is the government mandated eye protection and gloves??? The mask obsession is a mental disorder. The science isn't there all that exists to support mask mandates is superstition. Most of those who want mask mandates are merely psychotic Karens. They should either be roundly ignored as stupid fools OR required to abide by their own obsession. Require them to wear a mask 24/7 even while eating or alone in their home. Failing to abide by these rules should be met with 24 hours in jail for each infraction. Take the "fun" out of being a Karen. It would be awesome if masks worked, Wear a mask and never get a communicable disease. It would be AWESOME, but they don't. The ONLY value to masks is to make it look like the politicians are doing something. There is a very simple and constitutional solution to this problem. If you like masks or believe in them wear them. If you choose not to wear them that is your right. Problem solved. So you didn't bother to read the study that shows over a massive number of people that masks work. You just repeated a lot of crap people keep saying about why they think masks probably don't work and shouldn't work, and what would be better. Then you doubled down on your insulting opinion about other people.
And yet you will be the one who feels he has been challenged and insulted. A partial solution means it is not a standalone solution. Masks help, but won't fix everything. Seatbelts won't prevent accidents or prevent all injuries in an accident, but they are still useful. Requiring them is fine, and one is crazy not to wear them. Go to statistician Lyman Stone's twitter site and read the study. The villages that wore masks got less covid than the villages that didn't, over a large number of villages and individuals. I could show you a study that hanging garlic around your neck will prevent infection. I would hope you don't simply pick studies that agree with your preconceptions and assume you are really smart. Masks do not work. You can make all the argument you want to but IF they WORKED you could replace those expensive hazmat suits they were to treat ebola.
They don't work! Maybe they work8% BUT in order to protect you they must work 100% (actually 99,9999%, I rounded up). Go to your local sewer treatment plant and take a glass of effluent as it arrives to be treated and filter it through you mask and drink it. Please hang a sign around your neck saying that you filtered the crap 8% SO... it must be safe. You will need the sign because you will probably never be able to tell anyone. Masks DON'T WORK! I wish to god they did. And the supposed 8% that the DO work drops to zero after you wear them for mere minutes and they become bio-hazards after that. Masks not only don't work but they are a really stupid idea.
#6.1.2.1.1
OneGuy
on
2021-09-01 13:51
(Reply)
I am glad that I baited you into making such foolish statements about what the meaning of the word "work" is. It saved me the trouble of a point-by-point refutation.
And you still haven't read the study, but accuse me of only quoting the studies that I like. Don't help any kids with their science homework, okay?
#6.1.2.1.1.1
Assistant Village Idiot
on
2021-09-01 19:56
(Reply)
That is laughable from someone who has demonstrated that they don't understand science or how so-called "studies" are actually done. You wallow in your ignorance and Become a Karen to others.
#6.1.2.1.1.1.1
OneGuy
on
2021-09-02 14:55
(Reply)
OneGuy: An infected person can exhale, cough or sneeze millions of virus. Now quick math tells you that 8% of millions far exceeds the 7-15 virus necessary to infect you.
The number of SARS-CoV-2 virions required to cause infection is not known with certainty, but evidence indicates at least several hundred. A sneeze or cough will expel relatively large droplets, but these are effectively blocked by the typical mask. Aerosols are much smaller and typically contain only a few virions, often none. A basic cloth mask works well in areas where the amount of virus in the air is low, such as in not overly crowded public spaces. They don't work well when the amount of virus in the air is very high, such as COVID wards. This helps explain why mask studies have come up with different results. See Cheng et al., Face masks effectively limit the probability of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, Science, June 2021. "They don't work well when the amount of virus in the air is very high, such as COVID wards."
I am flummoxed by who stupid that statement is and how you think it proves you right. It absolutely proves that MASKS DON'T WORK. "A basic cloth mask works well in areas where the amount of virus in the air is low, such as in not overly crowded public spaces." Again and incredible level of stupidity. Cloth masks work well in areas where there a low ampounts of virus BUT they work about as "well" as no mask. MOST everyone who contracted covid did so while abiding by the mask and distance rules. IF the masks worked NO ONE wearing a mask would have contracted covid. But the KEY to your wishy washy language is the word "well". How well do masks work? Cloth masks worn worn correctly will stop about 8% of exhaled virus. Is that "WELL" enough??? You would have to be incredibly stupid to believe it is. About s stupid as believing that once you sit down in a restaurant you won't catch or transmit the virus. Or if you leave a bar before 10 PM you won't catch or transmit the virus. I especially love the distance rule. 6 feet or 2 meters if you are in Canada. But wait... 2 meters is more than 6 feet! SO! Which one is correct??? Neither! Did you seriously think there was anything magical about 6 feet? Or even 100 feet. Although to misquote you 100 feet would work "well". Your a fool, and worse, you are a clueless fool. Google video of smoke through mask. Watch it. See how "well" masks work.
#6.1.2.2.1
OneGuy
on
2021-09-01 14:02
(Reply)
OneGuy: I am flummoxed by who stupid that statement is and how you think it proves you right.
We cited a peer-reviewed paper in the journal Science. The paper could certainly be wrong, but it is very unlikely to be "stupid." OneGuy: It absolutely proves that MASKS DON'T WORK. The study showed that cloth masks reduce the probability of infection in the most common indoor conditions people find themselves in, such as the grocery store or post office. Cloth masks don't work well in COVID wards where more care must be taken. OneGuy: 2 meters is more than 6 feet! SO! Which one is correct??? Large droplets tend to fall quickly due to gravity, and like many things, there's no black and white, but a margin of safety. At six feet, the vast majority of droplets have fallen away. You might want to read the study before waving your hands.
#6.1.2.2.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-09-01 14:17
(Reply)
I wish Peer-reviewed meant what you think it does. It is literally meaningless. Virtually everything we believed 200 years ago has been proved wrong and it was all peer reviewed and "settled science" then. There is one thing about cloth masks that we absolutely know and cannot be refuted. They do not prevent transmission of all virus. Simple as that. You can study it and twist the date and do data dredges of other fake studies and you cannot change that simple fact. At best a simple mask available to all of us will merely force your exhalation to the person behind you instead of directly in front of you. The air/exhale takes the path of least resistance and it is NOT through the mask.
"The study showed that cloth masks reduce the probability of infection" There is a huge fault in that logic. What the masks do is filter out a small percentage of virus and germs, That does NOT equate to reduced infections. A test under the same exact conditions with a mask and without would result in exactly the same number of infections. The reason is simple: if you breathe in someone elses exhalations it matter not if there are 100 million virus or if there are 92 million virus. You are conflating the filtering percentage with the infection percentage. PLEASE, take some science and math classes and perhaps a logic class as well. "Large droplets tend to fall quickly due to gravity". As it applies to rain; YES. As it applies to the extremely small micro-droplets in exhalation; NO. You are simply wrong. But the question was: Is six feet right? Should it be 60 feet? Is 60 feet even enough? The simple fact is that if you walk into a room where there are 100 people sick with a highly transmittable virus you WILL catch it even if you stay 60 feet away. I suggest you look up the PPE equipment necessary to fully protect you from viruses.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1
OneGuy
on
2021-09-02 15:07
(Reply)
OneGuy: I wish Peer-reviewed meant what you think it does.
It's hardly meaningless. It's how you present your findings to your peers. OneGuy: Virtually everything we believed 200 years ago has been proved wrong The Relativity of Wrong: when people thought the Earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the Earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the Earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the Earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together." OneGuy: They do not prevent transmission of all virus. Actually, they do. One way viruses are transmitted is through droplets, such as when someone coughs. Masks are quite effective at stopping such droplets. Aerosols can also carry the virus, but most aerosol particles carry only a few viruses or none. OneGuy: As it applies to the extremely small micro-droplets in exhalation Don't confuse droplets with aerosols. The former drop rapidly. The latter stay suspended and mix with the air in the room. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143281/ Obviously, you didn't even bother to read Cheng et al., or you would already be familiar with this.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-09-02 17:33
(Reply)
The biggest scientific hoax in history, before the AGW hoax, was silent spring. It was wrong on everything. The list of "peers" who agreed with it and doubled down on it is huge. Still to this day you will find people wallowing in their ignorance over silent spring. Eventually most people will come to realize that which we call global warming/climate change is an elaborate hoax to gain massive amounts of money and power. The list of peers for the global warming hoax is even greater than the Silent Spring dupes and useful idiots.
I do not believe for a second that you actually believe in the mask hoax. You are merely part of the far left and will say anything to further their cause. I doubt you have said anything honest in your entire adult life.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1.1
OneGuy
on
2021-09-03 15:32
(Reply)
OneGuy: The biggest scientific hoax in history, before the AGW hoax, was silent spring.
Neither of which are hoaxes.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-09-03 15:58
(Reply)
Perfect! You do realize that most people today have seen the evidence that Silent Spring was a book full of hoaxes. Most people today realize that they were lied to and many/most of the scientific community that lied about it knew they were lying. But it furthered a "good cause" so it was OK. THAT is EXACTLY why most scientists today are lying about AGW; it furthers a good cause".
Global warming official began about 1850 when the mini ice age ended, long before SUV's. Neither the mini ice age nor the inevitable warming that followed it were man caused they were caused by the Milankovitch cycles. Every scientists worth their salt knows this and yet they lie to our face. Why? Many lie because they have written books, authored studies and gotten promotions based on those lies, what else can they do now admit past lies? There is one important fact that never seems to make it's way into the discussion of global warming OR AGW and that is thank good for the Milankovitch cycle caused global warming. Without it it would literally be impossible to feed and provide the needs of nearly 8 billion humans. One other thing is absolutely true that never gets discussed; and that is that the Milankovitch cycle will do what it is famous for and bring us global cooling. When it does about half of the 8 billion or so people living at the time will die within a few short years and most of the rest will follow a few years later. In other words please continue global warming, your lives depend on it.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
OneGuy
on
2021-09-04 12:20
(Reply)
OneGuy: You do realize that most people today have seen the evidence that Silent Spring was a book full of hoaxes.
Oops! You forgot the evidence. OneGuy: Neither the mini ice age nor the inevitable warming that followed it were man caused they were caused by the Milankovitch cycles. Gosh! What will those crazy scientists come up with next?! In any case, Milankovitch cycles predict current cooling, so do not explain the current warming trend. Even then, Milankovitch cycles do not predict long term trends without accounting for positive reinforcements, such as albedo and changes in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-09-04 13:33
(Reply)
The Milankovitch cycles are about 1000 times more influence on our warming and cooling cycles than the so called greenhouse gases. Interestingly the most signiuficant greenhouse gas is water vapor which by itself accounts for 98+% of greenhouse gas effects.
The greenhouse effect of CO2 is dead wrong, In fact CO2 is a trailing indicator of warming and not the cause. It is virtually impossible for man to cause global warming (or cooling). By comparison a good size volcanic eruption releases 100-10,000 times more green house gases than man has. and even then the effect on temperatures is minimal and temporary.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
OneGuy
on
2021-09-04 14:11
(Reply)
OneGuy: The Milankovitch cycles are about 1000 times more influence on our warming and cooling cycles than the so called greenhouse gases.
Try to actually read before responding. The Milankovitch cycles imply the climate should be cooling, so they can't be used to explain the current warming. OneGuy: Interestingly the most signiuficant greenhouse gas is water vapor which by itself accounts for 98+% of greenhouse gas effects. Carbon dioxide accounts for about 10-20% of the greenhouse effect. See Kiehl & Trenberth, Earth’s Annual Global Mean Energy Budget, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1996. Water vapor has an equilibrium in the atmosphere which depends on temperature. This creates a positive feedback. If the Earth warms, from whatever cause, atmospheric water vapor tends to increase, increasing the greenhouse effect, and further warming the surface. Conversely, if the Earth cools. The result is that the Earth has two stable states, ice ages and ice free ages. OneGuy: In fact CO2 is a trailing indicator of warming and not the cause. CO2 acts as both cause and effect, a feedback mechanism. If the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere increases from whatever cause, the Earth's surface warms. This is amplified by the water vapor feedback. In addition, the oceans hold less CO2 when warm, which increases the concentration of atmospheric CO2, a positive feedback. Conversely, if CO2 decreases. OneGuy: By comparison a good size volcanic eruption releases 100-10,000 times more green house gases than man has. It depends what you mean by "a good size volcanic eruption," but current volcanic activity (200 mt of CO2 annually) accounts for only about 1% of human emissions (24 gt of CO2 annually). Over geological timescales, however, volcanic emissions can be significant, and help account for the end of snowball Earth.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-09-04 16:32
(Reply)
"The Milankovitch cycles imply the climate should be cooling"
Absolutely wrong! "Carbon dioxide accounts for about 10-20% of the greenhouse effect" Absolutely wrong! "CO2 acts as both cause and effect, a feedback mechanism..." A wishy washy statement thatr is partly true. BUT the most significant fact is that CO2 would have to be considerable higher to have any effect on temperatures. A second significant fact is: thank god for higher CO2 levels it makes food and other plants grow better and benefits all living creatures especially man. "current volcanic activity (200 mt of CO2 annually) accounts for only about 1% of human emissions (24 gt of CO2 annually)..." Again, wishy washy. When Mt Pinatubo blew it released more greenhouse gases then man did in the entire century. Interestingly all this greenhouse gas had zero lasting effect on our climate.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
OneGuy
on
2021-09-05 09:04
(Reply)
OneGuy: "The Milankovitch cycles imply the climate should be cooling" Absolutely wrong!
"If there were no human influences on climate, scientists say Earth’s current orbital positions within the Milankovitch cycles predict our planet should be cooling, not warming, continuing a long-term cooling trend that began 6,000 years ago." https://climate.nasa.gov/blog/2949/why-milankovitch-orbital-cycles-cant-explain-earths-current-warming/ Current Milankovitch forcing is about -0.1W/m2. OneGuy: "Carbon dioxide accounts for about 10-20% of the greenhouse effect" Absolutely wrong! See Kiehl & Trenberth, Earth’s Annual Global Mean Energy Budget, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1996. OneGuy: "current volcanic activity (200 mt of CO2 annually) accounts for only about 1% of human emissions (24 gt of CO2 annually)..." When Mt Pinatubo blew it released more greenhouse gases then man did in the entire century. The 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption emitted about the same amount of CO2 as humans do in a day. The primary emissions that affected climate were sulfate aerosols which had a short-term cooling effect on the climate. See Self et al., The Atmospheric Impact of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo Eruption, U.S.Geological Survey 1999. Interestingly, the eruption also allowed an observational test of the water vapor feedback mechanism described above.
#6.1.2.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-09-05 10:11
(Reply)
"American University of Afghanistan Students Struggle to Flee the Country"
Back in the day (and I'm talking 1956) of the Hungarian Revolution, a fair few Hungarians took advantage of a fairly open border to Austria to get out. Amongst them were faculty, staff, and students of the Sopron Forestry School. They ended up at the University of British Columbia where that Forestry faculty let them in a a special division, the Sopron division of the Faculty of Forestry. We had neighbours from the Hungarian diaspora, but the most memorable person was the man who became the Arts teacher at our local school. He'd had to get out of Hungary before the revolution (and was inclined to be somewhat contemptuous of the those who took advantage of the revolution to get a good deal elsewhere) and had landed in Australia before coming to Canada. Happened to get a ride to school to him one day and the radio was playing "A Scottish Soldier" which was popular at that time. I still remember Mr Borsos listening to that and saying he would never be able to return o Hungary. Can't track his history (though one son is well known), but don't thing he ever was able to return to his homeland. QUOTE: They Openly Mock Us Now: Taliban Hangs “Traitor” by the Throat From US Helicopter in Kandahar Left Behind by Joe Biden Fake. The man was suspended from the helicopter to fix the flag on the governor’s building. https://www.rawstory.com/fake-helicopter-execution-story-afghanistan/ |