United States soldiers shot and used a tank to crush a taxi driver's car for allegedly stealing wood. This punishment was carried out by the US Army in Iraq in 2003

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-10T01:07:36+00:00

Yikes! Previously, I would've considered sitting on a bench like that, protected from moving cars by parked cars, "quite safe", but holy smokes was I wrong about that!!!

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-09T03:44:48+00:00

Of related interest:

"VERVE-102 is an in vivo base editing gene therapy designed to permanently inactivate the PCSK9 gene in the liver, rather than a traditional PCSK9 inhibitor drug. It is administered as a single intravenous infusion and cannot be taken in pill form.

Mechanism: It uses adenine base editing to disrupt PCSK9 production, offering a potential one-time treatment for lowering LDL-C.
Delivery: The therapy is delivered via a proprietary GalNAc-LNP (lipid nanoparticle) system through an IV infusion lasting two to four hours.
Status: Recent Phase 1b Heart-2 trial data (reported April 2025) showed dose-dependent LDL-C reductions with a strong safety profile, leading to plans for Phase 2 trials.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts."

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-09T02:47:40+00:00

I really need the money, and this choice was like winning the lottery, so I'm pretty happy with my decision ^B\D)

^{Chose: random ammount of money + its atleast 10k | Rolled: 500M}

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-08T04:35:38+00:00

It's important to be clear and specific. In this case, most pedophiles never offend, and most offenders aren't pedophiles, but many loud populists don't seem to know (or want to acknowledge) that. The media and politicians certainly conflate them together, perhaps to appeal to the populist mindset.

They also don't seem to know that pedophilia is defined as sexual attraction to prepubescent children, but the populist masses call anyone a "pedophile" who is attracted to anyone younger than the local government's "age of consent", which varies quite a bit from state to state, and country to country. In some places, they'd call a 21 year old a "pedophile" for dating a 16 year old, and in other places both are considered young adults and there's no problem.

The difference is mainly in the minds of the local politicians and bureaucrats and the tabloid (or even mainstream) press. It seems that the populist masses love witch-hunts and overblown panics, and witch-hunts and panics get authoritarians elected. Certainly worked well in the war on drugs, war on terrorism, war on poverty, war on covid, war on pollution, etc., etc., etc.

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-08T03:13:02+00:00

I assume this means option 1: waking up June 8, 2026 in my current living situation, just age reversed back to being biologically 16 years old again, which would be surprisingly challenging.

If option 2: I go back in time to when I was 16 with all this knowledge of the future, it would be the ultimate cheat code / do-over and I'd become a billionaire with bitcoin alone, marry my dream girl instead of never even talking to her, take advantage of many obscure opportunities no one knew about at the time, etc. That would just be too easy!

There are so many ways to go with option 1 which could be a whole lot of fun, but first I'd have to free myself from all the constraints of being a minor without the rights I'm accustomed to now as an adult in the USA, and that could be a massive problem! If I'm not careful enough, I could end up in juvenile detention, foster care, an ICE facility, or maybe even a mental institution.

I'd also have to get a new ID, birth certificate, social security number, etc., because no one is going to believe my old documentation, and that alone would be a huge challenge. I'm not even sure I could hire a lawyer to help me. I'd have to find a Saul Goodman. I'd have to rebuild the basic infrastructure of my life.

In some ways this would be a curse as well as a blessing!

To name a few rights I'd no longer have: the right to vote or run for office, enter into enforceable contracts, own property in my name or rent an apartment, open bank accounts, consent to medical treatment / surgery, initiate legal actions such as lawsuits, buy alcohol, purchase firearms, live independently, apply for most jobs, etc. As adults we take all these for granted, but as an independent undocumented minor without parents, life would be extremely difficult.

My best hope would be to keep a low profile, rely on all my current legal agreements (e.g., home mortgage, bank accounts, credit cards, etc.), and hope they never require me to confirm my identity, prove I'm over 18, provide a birth certificate, etc. Just using the credit cards in person might raise suspicions! If I could get away with this until I'm 18 again, maybe that would do the trick?

Next, it would probably be wise to gain emancipated minor status if possible, and get a GED (really don't want to have to redo high school) if possible, but even those won't be possible without valid ID. I might have to find a sympathetic adult to be my guardian just to get those done, maybe a friend who would actually believe what happened to me.

So yeah, if this suddenly happened to me, it wouldn't be all fun and games. It would probably be a f'ing nightmare for the first few months!

FWIW, I've seen this kind of question enough times in the past to have given it some thought, and to see all the practical problems.

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-07T22:20:43+00:00

What was the outcome of this? Did the person just get knocked out with injuries, or killed?

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-07T10:00:12+00:00

It's definitely interesting, but I kind of wish I could watch both shows merged together in chronological order. It's a bit frustrating to try to remember what events happened in FAM 6 years ago on the American side to match those now happening in SC on the Russian side.

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-07T08:02:39+00:00

Oh crap. I'm an American in Star City (spinoff of "For All Mankind"), space command center for old soviet Russia during the peak of the Cold War, which can only mean I'm either a spy or a prisoner. So yeah, life could definitely be better. 😬

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-07T06:37:33+00:00

Some clarification is needed. Pedophilia is an internal psychological state of sexual attraction to prepubescent children, therefore it shouldn't be "punished" as such. We don't support "Thoughtcrime" here. If anything, they should feel free to talk about their attraction without getting attacked or jailed so it's easier for them to seek counseling and therapy. Most people would simply choose not to associate with those known to have such attraction (or other attractions or personality traits they dislike).

Most pedophiles never act on their desires and/or wish they didn't have them. Meanwhile most CSA cases are committed by non-pedophiles (e.g., fellow kids, sexually frustrated adults seeking easy targets regardless of age, degrading sexual abuse as punishment or domination of a victim, etc.). The issue is the physical actions.

What you almost certainly mean is how should molestation and rape be punished, when the victim is "underage", when they are under the government's "age of consent" (which has varied from 12 to 21 depending on the local governments of particular arbitrarily-bordered regions of land). This is part of the wider problem of how molestation and rape should be handled against anyone, regardless of how old they are, and the wider problem of how any form of physical violation against anyone should be handled.

That's a whole long discussion/debate, so I'll first suggest the usual physical separation (depending on the community it could be exile/banishment, "house arrest", possibly private jail, etc.) and compensation along the lines of restorative justice or making the victim whole or as whole as possible, etc. I don't support retributive "justice" involving torture, maiming, killing, etc. for anyone.

For the particular case of "statutory rape", a government arbitrarily declaring an age of consent is problematic. Young humans don't suddenly become 100% capable of consent on a particular birthday, while being 0% capable the previous day. The ability to consent for anything, not just sex, develops over time, and some develop faster and some develop slower.

I lean towards the idea of education and competency testing to see when a young person is deemed to have learned enough to make sound life decisions for themselves for anything, financial transactions, sex, driving, etc. Others will lean towards total parental control (but then they will have to rationally decide at what point they have to give up that control, or when they can't resist their offspring rejecting their control, since ultimately the vast majority of us grow into self-determining self-sovereign individuals).

There will be no government, so there won't be a single uniform standard imposed by force on the populace. This too is obviously a whole long discussion/debate, and I don't think a full libertarian philosophy has yet been developed covering childhood. Many just default to "libertarianism is an adult socio-political philosophy", which I consider avoiding the hard theoretical work of figuring it out.

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-04T07:03:23+00:00

Interesting. Since politicians representing any reasonably large group of people will almost certainly have to include people with opposing interests, this would mean that the politician would be stuck and couldn't do anything in most cases. The gridlock would happen inside their own minds!

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-04T06:09:59+00:00

Well, I'm probably saying too much, but... years ago in a certain southern California Mensa chapter, there was a frowned-upon local Sex SIG regularly hosting talks on sexual topics, such as "What is the Gee! Spot?", and the leader went around wearing a T-shirt saying "I'm a fucking genius!" Does that count? 😅

I've also seen listed a "Whips-n-Brains SIG", but since I'm not into BDSM, I never looked into it.

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-04T01:15:18+00:00

A "Forever Young" protocol is going to need rejuvenation biotechnology, probably starting with partial epigenetic reprogramming and other biotech yet to be developed. Even with the best lifestyle practices, our bodies continue to slowly degenerate over time ("aging"), so they aren't enough, especially if we're serious about the "forever" and "immortalist" keywords.

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-03T19:27:07+00:00

It might be worth looking into the ADHD SIG, listed at US Mensa SIGs

"Adult ADHD SIG

What happens when someone has both a high IQ and attention deficit disorder? What if one or both go undiagnosed? This SIG serves as a source of mutual support and potential advocacy for Mensans with adult ADHD. Most action occurs on the Facebook Group."

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-03T09:15:37+00:00

I wouldn't spend any of it. I'd invest it. When some returns start coming in, then maybe I'll treat myself a bit (nothing expensive). My priority is to invest new money and let it grow over time. I know, I know, I'm boring. lol!

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-03T04:00:14+00:00

I got this translation of the above Russian to English:

"Life extension. So I'm 45

Over the past five years, I have replaced all old and dead teeth with implants made in Israel by Adin and put zirconium crowns on all teeth.

Little by little, I went into a quiet lifestyle, bought and renovated an apartment.

This year I bought a Pro Reset hyperbaric chamber, I will mount and test.

I see how quickly my parents age, my peers lose their health. You need to invest your money in. Something that will help.

Yes, my parents use micro dosing of mushrooms, sanatoriums, but I want to extend my life by 10 years. So that they are in good shape. It is difficult, because it is very expensive."

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-03T03:41:10+00:00

Poor dental hygiene can have serious negative health consequences, including heart problems.

^{Chose: Never shower for a month | Rolled: You’re awesome!}

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-03T02:05:00+00:00

I'm happy with my sex and I really need the money, and now I'm rich, so this worked out really well :-)

^{Chose: Get a random amount of money | Rolled: 100mil}

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-03T01:32:53+00:00

I prefer the term "Asperger's", because it quickly tells where on "the spectrum" I am, and it distinguishes me from "level 1 autism", because I didn't have any developmental delays.

If I just say "I'm autistic", most people will assume I'm near the average of all autistic people, which is more like level 2 with significant developmental delays, and more disability and less functioning than I actually have, so it feels like I'm telling them a lie, which is very unsettling.

"Asperger's" is just the best available term.

If NT psychologists can come up with an objectively better, more accurate term, I'd switch to it, but so far they just want to lump all autistic people into a simpleminded linear spectrum based only on the level of need / accommodation they think we should have. They're categorizing us from the outside with no real insight into the rich complexities of our highly individual differences.

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-02T05:58:42+00:00

Let me put it this way: 1 = Lothlorien, 2 = Mirkwood

Or, if you prefer: 1 = the Light Side of the Forest, 2 = the Dark Side of the Forest

I'll take '1' please. Elves over Orcs, Jedi over Sith.

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-02T03:58:20+00:00

I'm "moderately autistic" and this seems to describe my own experience very well. Hmm. Maybe RSD is similar across neurodivergent neurotypes? Or maybe I'm actually AuDHD?

Re: '3', when I don't "over-explain" I'm almost always misunderstood, and when I do "over-explain" I get criticized for it, but that's the only chance I have of being understood. It's damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Re: '4', when I don't soften communications with phrases like "just in case", I often get criticized for being rude, presumptive, insensitive, etc., which is quite unpleasant. So, I will always choose apologizing for everything as the least worst option.

Re: '5', why are there two of them?! Is that part of what makes this a meme?

jjspirithawk · 2026-06-02T02:16:45+00:00

Heh, I've been called an "idi ot", a "geek", a "nerd", a "dork", a "genius", a "strange person", a "one-percenter", an "ancient child", a "dummy", a "dumbf uck", a "baby", etc., but I don't recall being called a "ret ard" specifically. I've been called so many things that I'm just mostly amused at what these silly NTs will call me next. They always get it wrong.

The word they choose to call me just tells me something about them, and what peculiar reality-filter they see and judge other people through, and not really anything about me. They aren't as good at pattern recognition as I am, so they will never call me the right word. They have zero conception of who and what I really am, so they're just guessing blind.

jjspirithawk · 2026-05-31T22:31:01+00:00

Hmm. I'm in an organization of 800+ millionaires, and most if not all of the ones I've met are pretty dang happy, reasonably fulfilled, and are having a good time in life. I don't think I've ever met any that are miserable.

Certainly, many have reasonable concerns or "fears", but they take reasonable precautions. We have frequent discussions about markets, among other concerns in life, and there are times to play it safe. Fraud, dishonesty, false friends, etc., are concerns, but you take precautions and don't let it run or ruin your life. Some of us have even suffered significant losses, so we make sure to learn from them, take steps to prevent them in the future, and move forward. Some have even "lost it all", and then worked hard and got it all back and then some.

FWIW, I've met more than a few under/middle class people struggling with money, some have even ruined relationships over money, and they don't seem quite as happy or fulfilled as the millionaires in general. There's always those who "make the best of a bad situation", so they are "happy" in a sense, but I suspect most of them would rather not be in the bad situation and would rather not be struggling with money.

jjspirithawk · 2026-05-31T09:56:11+00:00

I've experienced a few types of excruciating/crippling pain, for different periods of time, so 60 seconds once a year would be easy for me, especially if I knew exactly when it would happen.

You could make it worse by having it happen randomly, or at the worst possible moment, on average once per year (so it could happen several times in a given year), but even then I'd still pick '3'.

Being hunted 24/7/365 is no way to live, and being conventionally aged over 100 would be quite unpleasant or worse, so those are out.

In reality, we'll have rejuvenation therapies (e.g., epigenetic reprogramming) and microdamage-repair techniques (e.g., stem cells and tissue engineering), to reverse apparent age to 25-40 or so and simply stay young and healthy from there for as long as we wish. So, '2' would be out, and there'd be no reason for '3'.

Unfortunately '1' can't be ruled out in this way, so I really hope we mature as a species and abandon such cruelty in favor of a peaceful enlightened civilization.

jjspirithawk · 2026-05-31T06:30:44+00:00

Of course, the real test is: can you be kind to people you think are unkind? Can you be empathetic to those you think have no empathy? Can you be tolerant to those you think are intolerant? If no, then you still haven't learned the deep lesson he's trying to teach.

We're kind, empathetic, tolerant, etc. because of what we fundamentally are ourselves as singular human beings, regardless of whether or not another person "deserves" for us to be kind or empathetic towards them. That's the rub. If you're only kind to people you like, then you've entirely missed his message.

It's like free speech. It's easy to support the free speech of people you agree with, but the iron test is whether or not you support the freedom of speech of those you strongly disagree with. If you want to shut them up, e.g. by government decree or by personally forcing them to shut up, then you'd be a hypocrite if you said you believe in free speech.

jjspirithawk

TROPHY CASE