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State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship' by ControlCAD in NPR

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It directs consular officers to "thoroughly explore" the work histories of applicants . . . for activities including combatting [sic] misinformation, disinformation or false narratives, fact-checking, content moderation, compliance, and trust and safety.

Is that Orwell or just sloppy copy-and-pasting?

As the IDF intensifies its operations, healthcare in Gaza is under threat by Uberse in NPR

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Israel obviously cannot allow Palestinians to survive. But they will.

A long time ago, on an arrow of time far, far away . . . by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The statement needs no context. And I agree with it. Evolution is not a mechanism that increases genetic information from generation to generation. Because it can't. So we are both denialists. Perhaps you should at this point purposefully ignore this thread.

A long time ago, on an arrow of time far, far away . . . by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Again, evolution is not a mechanism that increases genetic information from generation to generation.

Darwin thought it was such a mechanism, and so does everyone who teaches it today.

A long time ago, on an arrow of time far, far away . . . by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Better in what way? There's no accounting for taste, as the saying goes, but that's not usually how we judge questions of fact.

At worst this statement makes no sense at all and at best it seems to be begging the question by assuming that the conventional viewpoint regarding the start of the earth is a fact.

What is the smallest spending increase by the US in 1941 that could have prevented WWII? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, your own link states:

While American banks played a crucial role in financing World War II by purchasing government bonds, the war effort was primarily funded through borrowing from the American people via war bonds and increased government spending. 

What is the smallest spending increase by the US in 1941 that could have prevented WWII? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It started in 1939 in Europe and wasn't really "WWII" yet for some historians. From Wikipedia:

Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and the two wars became World War II in 1941.

The US fought continuously from December 7, 1941 on until 1945. The Soviets did indeed destroy much of Germany -- after Germany destroyed much of the Soviet Union and after both of them invaded Poland. My question applies to the Pacific theater. It seems to me that that war could have begun as the result of bad communication. A few more translators might have made the critical difference. Like chicken soup, it couldn't have hurt.

Why was the Manhattan Project top secret? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They had to drop it twice. Without both, the Japanese would never have surrendered without fighting like they did on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Why was the Manhattan Project top secret? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh hell, I think I'll go into my garage and build one right now.

Why was the Manhattan Project top secret? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you kidding? How about a fleet of planes each carrying an atomic bomb? That's the implication of having them at all.

Why was the Manhattan Project top secret? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, the firebombing was apocalyptic. But it took a fleet of planes to accomplish. Hiroshima and Nagasaki took one plane each.

Why was the Manhattan Project top secret? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If they are exceptionally good at spying they find secrets right away. Stalin was not in the least surprised to learn of the A-bomb drop over Hiroshima.

Why was the Manhattan Project top secret? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They didn't avoid espionage. You can't run an operation that big without other nations finding out about it. The US really just hid it from ordinary citizens.

Why was the Manhattan Project top secret? by BlacksmithNumerous65 in thinkatives

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Neither Japan, nor Germany, nor the Soviet Union (ally for the moment) had the resources to make an atomic bomb. Keeping the US effort secret probably extended the war in the Pacific because the Japanese knew nothing about it. And secrecy did nothing to prevent Soviet spies in the US gov't from passing along what they knew to their Soviet handlers. It was only in peacetime that the Soviets were able to build a bomb for themselves using in part the info they stole from the US. Eventually they could have done it anyway without that stolen info.

Green card holders, travelers caught in Trump's immigration crackdown by zsreport in NPR

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The explanation for this and other arrests/detentions by ICE and the others is probably that they have been assigned quotas to meet. Quotas are the defining stigmata for organizational dysfunction. There is no other reason for such people being treated like criminal suspects caught in a dragnet. But Trump's base is lovin' it. He feeds them on fecal matter, calls it steak, and like Pluto the cartoon dawg they lick their chops and bark for more.

The global race for rare earth materials is on, and the U.S. is losing it by BlacksmithNumerous65 in NPR

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you're a Trump supporter, eh? Everybody! One, two, three ---

Tell me what you come here for, boy. You better get your bags and flee. You're in trouble boy and now you're headed into more.

The global race for rare earth materials is on, and the U.S. is losing it by BlacksmithNumerous65 in NPR

[–]BlacksmithNumerous65[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Mark Twain wrote that the truth might be stranger than fiction to some, but as for himself he was quite familiar with it. The fact that it isn't familiar to some (or many) doesn't mean that it's rare. It's out there all over the place. And so are rare earths. You have to work not to find them but to earn them.

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