Matt Hancock @MattHancock · 2m Just hearing @IPSAUK won't allow any MP to open their homes to refugees fleeing Ukraine - despite there being NO extra cost to the taxpayer
This is absurd and cruel
I will be writing to IPSA to get this ridiculous decision overturned immediately Matt Hancock @MattHancock · 40s They say it’s because we can’t sublet. I won’t be subletting: I will be WELCOMING Ukrainians as guests
Welcoming them as guests and trousering the £350 per month payment… based on utilising state funded assets
I imagine that ministers taking red boxes home should be briefed on security issues, but MPs do seem to forget why we needed to have an IPSA in the first place.
How many MPs are offering their constituency homes, rather than their London homes, and is there a way to decline the £350 payment?
I would suggest the best thing to do would be to pass the £350 straight over to whoever you are hosting. Then depending on your circumstances if you are so inclined you can discuss them contributing some back to help pay for food but otherwise they have some money to be able to look after themselves rather than relying entirely on their hosts. It is taxpayer's money and I think most of those who have volunteered so far would do so with or without the cash so better that it goes to the people who are coming here with practically nothing. They have a far greater need.
If they claim Universal Credit, or any other benefits whilst here, then I'd be very careful about advertising that idea. You could both be in trouble.
I’ve read on here that Biden, Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Pelosi, Corbyn and even I think Sturgeon are suffering from dementia, strokes, or other brain-impairing illnesses.
It’s utter bullshit.
Biden: if that were your dad you'd be having a word with his GP. Harold Wilson and Ronald reagan we know for certain were demented in office. Others:
"Five percent of people ages 71 to 79, 24.2 percent of people 80 to 89, and 37.4 percent of those 90 years or older were estimated to have some type of dementia."
Those odds easily, easily justify a 70 (or 75 absolutely max) cut off for holding office. So you don't have to assess on a case by case basis.
I’m sure there is some cognitive decline as politicians age, and indeed are stressed by the demands of the job.
But every time I watch one of these videos - including the Pelosi one - I just see someone occasionally forgetting a word.
I do it myself.
Everyone has off-days, especially 70-somethings.
So assuming there are adequate numbers of under 70s, which there are, retire the 70 somethings as a precaution. There's a lower bound for US presidents, why no upper one?
What precaution, precisely, are we guarding against? A babbled press conference?
Dementia. You are plainly in the happy position of never having known anyone with a serious case. i can promise you it goes way beyond babbling at conferences.
Absolutely - for the last two years of my father’s life he could go from being incredibly sharp and on the ball re politics or general life to a dribbling mess who insisted I was my brother. It could be a switch in the space of a day, over a few days or weeks.
It’s easy to put it down to just “getting old” but it can take a while to realise what’s really going on and so there is clearly a risk that someone can be elected where “mis-speaks” are laughed off to a real problem where the president is wearing one black brogue and one cherry red penny loafer to thinking he’s Peppa Pig during an essential briefing.
It’s a grim reality but the consequences are huge especially when it’s not your dad having an issue remembering why you are taking them for a hospital appointment but instead when they are supposed to be digesting intelligence briefs and maybe declaring war…..
A friend lost her mother to dementia last week. She had been unable to recognise her daughter for the last couple of years, but her mothers husband reckoned it started 19 years before, just no one noticed but him.
My mother in law has it. Sometimes she's in a vaguely reasonable mood even though she doesn't really know who anyone is but most of the time it is terrible. "I want to be dead" is all to frequent, as is being surprisingly rough, even with her husband of nearly 70 years. We've had to hide all the knives.
What can you do? I'm quite sure if we went back 20 years she'd quite readily have told us to head for Switzerland but that isn't an option now.
The NHS seems to shrug and treat it as a social care problem and not an illness. And care homes however hard they try aren't really a suitable place to dump people, particularly in a pandemic when visiting is heavily limited.
Utter nightmare for all concerned. Cancer, however bad, has nothing on this.
We desperately need to do more research on it as the population gets older. My money is on it being virus or pathogen triggered, but who knows...
The rural English used to have “smothering parties”. Where a whole village would come round, get wildly drunk, then briskly suffocate the elderly demented person under blankets. Job done. No questions asked
Arguably more merciful than what we do today. Keep people alive for years, in grave mental pain
I would certainly trust a village 'jury' who knew someone as a member of the community to do the right thing far more than the social care system that doesn't know them from Eve, and probably also more than the close family.
I do wonder where we lost our way on this. Perhaps we (as a society) are too distant from reality, even after a pandemic. It is much easier to take an extremist 'life at all costs' position when you hide all the problems away.
As an aside, I do know that not everyone with dementia has behavioural problems. A neighbour also had it and was "fine" living at home until the end. I suppose you don't know how it is going to be until it is too late.
Honestly, and without wanting to push it too hard, my view is that it was the growth of 'the State' that did so much damage. People no longer look to their family, friends and neighbours as the first to turn to in good times and bad but instead 'the State'. Personal and social responsibility for ones friends and neighbours has become the exception rather than the norm.
Oh, and this is for reasonably modern Western kit, not the 40 or 50 year old Soviet stuff we are seeing the Russians fielding in Ukraine at the moment.
We begin to see why the Russians have made almost no progress for yet another day.
Hopefully this'll go down in history as one of the most ill-judged military campaigns of all time.
Vitaly Gerasimov, give me back my legions.
Gerasimov might be wishing his son back.
Edit: I think it is Valery who is the CoS, and Vitaly who was killed, the son.
Matt Hancock @MattHancock · 2m Just hearing @IPSAUK won't allow any MP to open their homes to refugees fleeing Ukraine - despite there being NO extra cost to the taxpayer
This is absurd and cruel
I will be writing to IPSA to get this ridiculous decision overturned immediately Matt Hancock @MattHancock · 40s They say it’s because we can’t sublet. I won’t be subletting: I will be WELCOMING Ukrainians as guests
Welcoming them as guests and trousering the £350 per month payment… based on utilising state funded assets
I imagine that ministers taking red boxes home should be briefed on security issues, but MPs do seem to forget why we needed to have an IPSA in the first place.
How many MPs are offering their constituency homes, rather than their London homes, and is there a way to decline the £350 payment?
I would suggest the best thing to do would be to pass the £350 straight over to whoever you are hosting. Then depending on your circumstances if you are so inclined you can discuss them contributing some back to help pay for food but otherwise they have some money to be able to look after themselves rather than relying entirely on their hosts. It is taxpayer's money and I think most of those who have volunteered so far would do so with or without the cash so better that it goes to the people who are coming here with practically nothing. They have a far greater need.
If they claim Universal Credit, or any other benefits whilst here, then I'd be very careful about advertising that idea. You could both be in trouble.
I would make sure they would find it impossible to prove
Matt Hancock @MattHancock · 2m Just hearing @IPSAUK won't allow any MP to open their homes to refugees fleeing Ukraine - despite there being NO extra cost to the taxpayer
This is absurd and cruel
I will be writing to IPSA to get this ridiculous decision overturned immediately Matt Hancock @MattHancock · 40s They say it’s because we can’t sublet. I won’t be subletting: I will be WELCOMING Ukrainians as guests
Welcoming them as guests and trousering the £350 per month payment… based on utilising state funded assets
I imagine that ministers taking red boxes home should be briefed on security issues, but MPs do seem to forget why we needed to have an IPSA in the first place.
How many MPs are offering their constituency homes, rather than their London homes, and is there a way to decline the £350 payment?
I would suggest the best thing to do would be to pass the £350 straight over to whoever you are hosting. Then depending on your circumstances if you are so inclined you can discuss them contributing some back to help pay for food but otherwise they have some money to be able to look after themselves rather than relying entirely on their hosts. It is taxpayer's money and I think most of those who have volunteered so far would do so with or without the cash so better that it goes to the people who are coming here with practically nothing. They have a far greater need.
If they claim Universal Credit, or any other benefits whilst here, then I'd be very careful about advertising that idea. You could both be in trouble.
I would make sure they would find it impossible to prove
Nothing to see here, we're doing our job, move on.
Why does her age matter?
Surely the story is that someone somewhere was searched by someone for some reason?
A bit more than that. Was searching her in such a manner without parental presence or adult advocate present right at all? Would she have received different treatment by the police were she the blond, blue-eyed daughter of an MP? How do we handle people accused of 'smelling of drugs'?
Age certainly matters when serious allegations are made, intrusive procedures are followed, and parents are neither informed nor present. Race does matter when there is a suspicious that someone of a different social standing and skin colour would receive different treatment.
Yep I am hard pressed to see any way this can be explained as reasonable based on the evidence released so far.
Anyone watching the Matt Frei led debate on how to respond better to the Ukraine crisis? Currently on Channel 4.
Yes Prime Minister, BBC4
I think Paul Eddington might be the best comedy actor. YM/YPM and The Good Life are my two favourite sitcoms of all time.
He was good, but his contemporary, Leonard Rossiter was the GOAT. Touched by genius.
Reggie Perrin!!!!
I didn’t get where I am today without appreciating Reggie Perrin.
8 minutes late, loose leopard at Hanger Lane.
Polling update:
71% of housewives in East Lancashire and 81% in Hertfordshire expressed an interest in the concept of exotic ice-creams. Only 8% in Hertfordshire and 14% in Lancashire expressed positive hostility, whilst 5% expressed latent hostility. In Hertfordshire, 96% of the 50% who formed 20% of consumer spending were in favour. 0.6% told us where we could put our exotic ice creams.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Anyone watching the Matt Frei led debate on how to respond better to the Ukraine crisis? Currently on Channel 4.
Yes Prime Minister, BBC4
I think Paul Eddington might be the best comedy actor. YM/YPM and The Good Life are my two favourite sitcoms of all time.
He was good, but his contemporary, Leonard Rossiter was the GOAT. Touched by genius.
Reggie Perrin!!!!
I didn’t get where I am today without appreciating Reggie Perrin.
8 minutes late, loose leopard at Hanger Lane.
Polling update:
71% of housewives in East Lancashire and 81% in Hertfordshire expressed an interest in the concept of exotic ice-creams. Only 8% in Hertfordshire and 14% in Lancashire expressed positive hostility, whilst 5% expressed latent hostility. In Hertfordshire, 96% of the 50% who formed 20% of consumer spending were in favour. 0.6% told us where we could put our exotic ice creams.
I’ve read on here that Biden, Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Pelosi, Corbyn and even I think Sturgeon are suffering from dementia, strokes, or other brain-impairing illnesses.
It’s utter bullshit.
Biden: if that were your dad you'd be having a word with his GP. Harold Wilson and Ronald reagan we know for certain were demented in office. Others:
"Five percent of people ages 71 to 79, 24.2 percent of people 80 to 89, and 37.4 percent of those 90 years or older were estimated to have some type of dementia."
Those odds easily, easily justify a 70 (or 75 absolutely max) cut off for holding office. So you don't have to assess on a case by case basis.
I’m sure there is some cognitive decline as politicians age, and indeed are stressed by the demands of the job.
But every time I watch one of these videos - including the Pelosi one - I just see someone occasionally forgetting a word.
I do it myself.
Everyone has off-days, especially 70-somethings.
So assuming there are adequate numbers of under 70s, which there are, retire the 70 somethings as a precaution. There's a lower bound for US presidents, why no upper one?
What precaution, precisely, are we guarding against? A babbled press conference?
Dementia. You are plainly in the happy position of never having known anyone with a serious case. i can promise you it goes way beyond babbling at conferences.
Absolutely - for the last two years of my father’s life he could go from being incredibly sharp and on the ball re politics or general life to a dribbling mess who insisted I was my brother. It could be a switch in the space of a day, over a few days or weeks.
It’s easy to put it down to just “getting old” but it can take a while to realise what’s really going on and so there is clearly a risk that someone can be elected where “mis-speaks” are laughed off to a real problem where the president is wearing one black brogue and one cherry red penny loafer to thinking he’s Peppa Pig during an essential briefing.
It’s a grim reality but the consequences are huge especially when it’s not your dad having an issue remembering why you are taking them for a hospital appointment but instead when they are supposed to be digesting intelligence briefs and maybe declaring war…..
A friend lost her mother to dementia last week. She had been unable to recognise her daughter for the last couple of years, but her mothers husband reckoned it started 19 years before, just no one noticed but him.
My mother in law has it. Sometimes she's in a vaguely reasonable mood even though she doesn't really know who anyone is but most of the time it is terrible. "I want to be dead" is all to frequent, as is being surprisingly rough, even with her husband of nearly 70 years. We've had to hide all the knives.
What can you do? I'm quite sure if we went back 20 years she'd quite readily have told us to head for Switzerland but that isn't an option now.
The NHS seems to shrug and treat it as a social care problem and not an illness. And care homes however hard they try aren't really a suitable place to dump people, particularly in a pandemic when visiting is heavily limited.
Utter nightmare for all concerned. Cancer, however bad, has nothing on this.
We desperately need to do more research on it as the population gets older. My money is on it being virus or pathogen triggered, but who knows...
The rural English used to have “smothering parties”. Where a whole village would come round, get wildly drunk, then briskly suffocate the elderly demented person under blankets. Job done. No questions asked
Arguably more merciful than what we do today. Keep people alive for years, in grave mental pain
I would certainly trust a village 'jury' who knew someone as a member of the community to do the right thing far more than the social care system that doesn't know them from Eve, and probably also more than the close family.
I do wonder where we lost our way on this. Perhaps we (as a society) are too distant from reality, even after a pandemic. It is much easier to take an extremist 'life at all costs' position when you hide all the problems away.
As an aside, I do know that not everyone with dementia has behavioural problems. A neighbour also had it and was "fine" living at home until the end. I suppose you don't know how it is going to be until it is too late.
Honestly, and without wanting to push it too hard, my view is that it was the growth of 'the State' that did so much damage. People no longer look to their family, friends and neighbours as the first to turn to in good times and bad but instead 'the State'. Personal and social responsibility for ones friends and neighbours has become the exception rather than the norm.
I don't think that true at all. There is a vast amount of care done by family and friends.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Anyone watching the Matt Frei led debate on how to respond better to the Ukraine crisis? Currently on Channel 4.
Yes Prime Minister, BBC4
I think Paul Eddington might be the best comedy actor. YM/YPM and The Good Life are my two favourite sitcoms of all time.
He was good, but his contemporary, Leonard Rossiter was the GOAT. Touched by genius.
Reggie Perrin!!!!
I didn’t get where I am today without appreciating Reggie Perrin.
8 minutes late, loose leopard at Hanger Lane.
Polling update:
71% of housewives in East Lancashire and 81% in Hertfordshire expressed an interest in the concept of exotic ice-creams. Only 8% in Hertfordshire and 14% in Lancashire expressed positive hostility, whilst 5% expressed latent hostility. In Hertfordshire, 96% of the 50% who formed 20% of consumer spending were in favour. 0.6% told us where we could put our exotic ice creams.
Anyone watching the Matt Frei led debate on how to respond better to the Ukraine crisis? Currently on Channel 4.
Yes Prime Minister, BBC4
I think Paul Eddington might be the best comedy actor. YM/YPM and The Good Life are my two favourite sitcoms of all time.
He was good, but his contemporary, Leonard Rossiter was the GOAT. Touched by genius.
Reggie Perrin!!!!
I didn’t get where I am today without appreciating Reggie Perrin.
8 minutes late, loose leopard at Hanger Lane.
Polling update:
71% of housewives in East Lancashire and 81% in Hertfordshire expressed an interest in the concept of exotic ice-creams. Only 8% in Hertfordshire and 14% in Lancashire expressed positive hostility, whilst 5% expressed latent hostility. In Hertfordshire, 96% of the 50% who formed 20% of consumer spending were in favour. 0.6% told us where we could put our exotic ice creams.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
From yesterday, I note I was laughed at by some for suggesting China's goal was to deprecate the dollar as the world's reserve currency, I see from today's Wall Street Journal that Saudi Arabia is in talks to start pricing its oil in yuan.
I repeat what I said yesterday - dumb people wage war with tanks, smart people wage war with economics.
The Yuan can't be the world's reserve currency for two and a half reasons:
(1) It's not really freely convertible (2) If it became the world's reserve currency, others would peg their currencies to it, and therefore China would lose the ability to devalue and (2.5) The world's reserve currency is pretty much always that of a debtor nation: that is, there needs to be enough of the currency in circulation for people to use it at the reserve. Which requires regular money creation through the act of borrowing. (2.75) There aren't enough Yuan denominated assets for people to buy.
Assuming that the true rate of inflation in the US is 10%ish and, according to some, hits 20% in the next year... what happens if China announces it has pegged the value of its currency to the value of the gold in its vaults?
With regard to the hegemony of the dollar, I like to think of how quickly gbp lost its hegemony after WW2. And also the matrix: "you think that's air you're breathing?" What gives the dollar its present value, other than the fact that people trade in dollars? If they start trading in yuan, what happens then?
Boris Johnson will be visting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday to ask the Gulf states to produce more oil and help the UK reduce dependence on Russian oil.
The controversial visit has sparked an outcry of protest from UK lawmakers and rights groups, coming just days after Saudi Arabia said it executed 81 people in the largest known mass execution in the kingdom’s modern history.
Matt Hancock @MattHancock · 2m Just hearing @IPSAUK won't allow any MP to open their homes to refugees fleeing Ukraine - despite there being NO extra cost to the taxpayer
This is absurd and cruel
I will be writing to IPSA to get this ridiculous decision overturned immediately Matt Hancock @MattHancock · 40s They say it’s because we can’t sublet. I won’t be subletting: I will be WELCOMING Ukrainians as guests
Welcoming them as guests and trousering the £350 per month payment… based on utilising state funded assets
I imagine that ministers taking red boxes home should be briefed on security issues, but MPs do seem to forget why we needed to have an IPSA in the first place.
How many MPs are offering their constituency homes, rather than their London homes, and is there a way to decline the £350 payment?
I would suggest the best thing to do would be to pass the £350 straight over to whoever you are hosting. Then depending on your circumstances if you are so inclined you can discuss them contributing some back to help pay for food but otherwise they have some money to be able to look after themselves rather than relying entirely on their hosts. It is taxpayer's money and I think most of those who have volunteered so far would do so with or without the cash so better that it goes to the people who are coming here with practically nothing. They have a far greater need.
& in the future, people who have volunteered to host Ukranian refugees could perhaps go on to register with Refugees At Home, a charity that tries to place refugees from all over the world who end up in the homes of volunteers in the UK.
Yes, my constituency party have just contacted them to see whetherwe can help matchmake local volunteers with specific refugees who have got through the Government hoops, so that we can address the "you must know the name of the refugee" issue that Richard highlighted. There are huge numbers of people here who want to offer rooms or in some cases whole flats but are stymied by not knowing whom to invite. They are by no means insistent that the refugee needs to come from one country or another.
Maybe other constituency parties/associations (not just Labour, anyone) could do the same? I'll report on whether it works well.
Then all of a sudden: "Based on local and social media sources I can confirm that the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted a successful attack (again) on Kherson Airbase(again), which resulted in several Russian helicopters lost (again).We’re waiting for IMINT to confirm the full extent of the damage." https://twitter.com/konrad_muzyka/status/1503778054753107968
Holding is a lot harder than just taking. Apparently this is the 3rd day in a row they've lost at list one air asset there, which in itself says a lot...
I’ve read on here that Biden, Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Pelosi, Corbyn and even I think Sturgeon are suffering from dementia, strokes, or other brain-impairing illnesses.
It’s utter bullshit.
Biden: if that were your dad you'd be having a word with his GP. Harold Wilson and Ronald reagan we know for certain were demented in office. Others:
"Five percent of people ages 71 to 79, 24.2 percent of people 80 to 89, and 37.4 percent of those 90 years or older were estimated to have some type of dementia."
Those odds easily, easily justify a 70 (or 75 absolutely max) cut off for holding office. So you don't have to assess on a case by case basis.
I’m sure there is some cognitive decline as politicians age, and indeed are stressed by the demands of the job.
But every time I watch one of these videos - including the Pelosi one - I just see someone occasionally forgetting a word.
I do it myself.
Everyone has off-days, especially 70-somethings.
So assuming there are adequate numbers of under 70s, which there are, retire the 70 somethings as a precaution. There's a lower bound for US presidents, why no upper one?
What precaution, precisely, are we guarding against? A babbled press conference?
Dementia. You are plainly in the happy position of never having known anyone with a serious case. i can promise you it goes way beyond babbling at conferences.
Absolutely - for the last two years of my father’s life he could go from being incredibly sharp and on the ball re politics or general life to a dribbling mess who insisted I was my brother. It could be a switch in the space of a day, over a few days or weeks.
It’s easy to put it down to just “getting old” but it can take a while to realise what’s really going on and so there is clearly a risk that someone can be elected where “mis-speaks” are laughed off to a real problem where the president is wearing one black brogue and one cherry red penny loafer to thinking he’s Peppa Pig during an essential briefing.
It’s a grim reality but the consequences are huge especially when it’s not your dad having an issue remembering why you are taking them for a hospital appointment but instead when they are supposed to be digesting intelligence briefs and maybe declaring war…..
A friend lost her mother to dementia last week. She had been unable to recognise her daughter for the last couple of years, but her mothers husband reckoned it started 19 years before, just no one noticed but him.
My mother in law has it. Sometimes she's in a vaguely reasonable mood even though she doesn't really know who anyone is but most of the time it is terrible. "I want to be dead" is all to frequent, as is being surprisingly rough, even with her husband of nearly 70 years. We've had to hide all the knives.
What can you do? I'm quite sure if we went back 20 years she'd quite readily have told us to head for Switzerland but that isn't an option now.
The NHS seems to shrug and treat it as a social care problem and not an illness. And care homes however hard they try aren't really a suitable place to dump people, particularly in a pandemic when visiting is heavily limited.
Utter nightmare for all concerned. Cancer, however bad, has nothing on this.
We desperately need to do more research on it as the population gets older. My money is on it being virus or pathogen triggered, but who knows...
The rural English used to have “smothering parties”. Where a whole village would come round, get wildly drunk, then briskly suffocate the elderly demented person under blankets. Job done. No questions asked
Arguably more merciful than what we do today. Keep people alive for years, in grave mental pain
I would certainly trust a village 'jury' who knew someone as a member of the community to do the right thing far more than the social care system that doesn't know them from Eve, and probably also more than the close family.
I do wonder where we lost our way on this. Perhaps we (as a society) are too distant from reality, even after a pandemic. It is much easier to take an extremist 'life at all costs' position when you hide all the problems away.
As an aside, I do know that not everyone with dementia has behavioural problems. A neighbour also had it and was "fine" living at home until the end. I suppose you don't know how it is going to be until it is too late.
Honestly, and without wanting to push it too hard, my view is that it was the growth of 'the State' that did so much damage. People no longer look to their family, friends and neighbours as the first to turn to in good times and bad but instead 'the State'. Personal and social responsibility for ones friends and neighbours has become the exception rather than the norm.
I don't think that true at all. There is a vast amount of care done by family and friends.
Absolutely but compare how extended third world families look after each other to us in the west. Being married to someone from the third world, I'm on first name, regularly chatting, terms with some of my cousins-third-removed in law, I don't even know who my cousins-third-removed here would be or for certain if they even exist.
I would certainly trust a village 'jury' who knew someone as a member of the community to do the right thing far more than the social care system that doesn't know them from Eve, and probably also more than the close family.
I do wonder where we lost our way on this. Perhaps we (as a society) are too distant from reality, even after a pandemic. It is much easier to take an extremist 'life at all costs' position when you hide all the problems away.
As an aside, I do know that not everyone with dementia has behavioural problems. A neighbour also had it and was "fine" living at home until the end. I suppose you don't know how it is going to be until it is too late.
It does vary enormously. My dad had it, and couldn't go out on his own as he probably wouldn't have known how to get back, but he took it philosophically ("The great thing is that I can reread my favourite books as I can't remember how they worked out!") and said he'd never been happier. Other example are more like those quoted downthread and heart-wrenching for all concerned. Because we're all afraid of it (well, I am, and I assume everyone else is), we tend to lump it all together as One Big Problem, but in reality it's a million subtly different problems.
I’ve read on here that Biden, Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Pelosi, Corbyn and even I think Sturgeon are suffering from dementia, strokes, or other brain-impairing illnesses.
It’s utter bullshit.
Biden: if that were your dad you'd be having a word with his GP. Harold Wilson and Ronald reagan we know for certain were demented in office. Others:
"Five percent of people ages 71 to 79, 24.2 percent of people 80 to 89, and 37.4 percent of those 90 years or older were estimated to have some type of dementia."
Those odds easily, easily justify a 70 (or 75 absolutely max) cut off for holding office. So you don't have to assess on a case by case basis.
I’m sure there is some cognitive decline as politicians age, and indeed are stressed by the demands of the job.
But every time I watch one of these videos - including the Pelosi one - I just see someone occasionally forgetting a word.
I do it myself.
Everyone has off-days, especially 70-somethings.
So assuming there are adequate numbers of under 70s, which there are, retire the 70 somethings as a precaution. There's a lower bound for US presidents, why no upper one?
What precaution, precisely, are we guarding against? A babbled press conference?
Dementia. You are plainly in the happy position of never having known anyone with a serious case. i can promise you it goes way beyond babbling at conferences.
Absolutely - for the last two years of my father’s life he could go from being incredibly sharp and on the ball re politics or general life to a dribbling mess who insisted I was my brother. It could be a switch in the space of a day, over a few days or weeks.
It’s easy to put it down to just “getting old” but it can take a while to realise what’s really going on and so there is clearly a risk that someone can be elected where “mis-speaks” are laughed off to a real problem where the president is wearing one black brogue and one cherry red penny loafer to thinking he’s Peppa Pig during an essential briefing.
It’s a grim reality but the consequences are huge especially when it’s not your dad having an issue remembering why you are taking them for a hospital appointment but instead when they are supposed to be digesting intelligence briefs and maybe declaring war…..
A friend lost her mother to dementia last week. She had been unable to recognise her daughter for the last couple of years, but her mothers husband reckoned it started 19 years before, just no one noticed but him.
My mother in law has it. Sometimes she's in a vaguely reasonable mood even though she doesn't really know who anyone is but most of the time it is terrible. "I want to be dead" is all to frequent, as is being surprisingly rough, even with her husband of nearly 70 years. We've had to hide all the knives.
What can you do? I'm quite sure if we went back 20 years she'd quite readily have told us to head for Switzerland but that isn't an option now.
The NHS seems to shrug and treat it as a social care problem and not an illness. And care homes however hard they try aren't really a suitable place to dump people, particularly in a pandemic when visiting is heavily limited.
Utter nightmare for all concerned. Cancer, however bad, has nothing on this.
We desperately need to do more research on it as the population gets older. My money is on it being virus or pathogen triggered, but who knows...
The rural English used to have “smothering parties”. Where a whole village would come round, get wildly drunk, then briskly suffocate the elderly demented person under blankets. Job done. No questions asked
Arguably more merciful than what we do today. Keep people alive for years, in grave mental pain
I would certainly trust a village 'jury' who knew someone as a member of the community to do the right thing far more than the social care system that doesn't know them from Eve, and probably also more than the close family.
I do wonder where we lost our way on this. Perhaps we (as a society) are too distant from reality, even after a pandemic. It is much easier to take an extremist 'life at all costs' position when you hide all the problems away.
As an aside, I do know that not everyone with dementia has behavioural problems. A neighbour also had it and was "fine" living at home until the end. I suppose you don't know how it is going to be until it is too late.
Honestly, and without wanting to push it too hard, my view is that it was the growth of 'the State' that did so much damage. People no longer look to their family, friends and neighbours as the first to turn to in good times and bad but instead 'the State'. Personal and social responsibility for ones friends and neighbours has become the exception rather than the norm.
I don't think that true at all. There is a vast amount of care done by family and friends.
Not compared to the past. And it is more than just 'friends'. It is the whole community. Most people would be hard pressed to tell you who lived in the house 3 doors down these days.
Anyone watching the Matt Frei led debate on how to respond better to the Ukraine crisis? Currently on Channel 4.
Yes Prime Minister, BBC4
I think Paul Eddington might be the best comedy actor. YM/YPM and The Good Life are my two favourite sitcoms of all time.
He was good, but his contemporary, Leonard Rossiter was the GOAT. Touched by genius.
Reggie Perrin!!!!
I didn’t get where I am today without appreciating Reggie Perrin.
8 minutes late, loose leopard at Hanger Lane.
Polling update:
71% of housewives in East Lancashire and 81% in Hertfordshire expressed an interest in the concept of exotic ice-creams. Only 8% in Hertfordshire and 14% in Lancashire expressed positive hostility, whilst 5% expressed latent hostility. In Hertfordshire, 96% of the 50% who formed 20% of consumer spending were in favour. 0.6% told us where we could put our exotic ice creams.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
From the page you linked to:
According to a 2015 global survey by Gallup International, the most religious had lower levels of education
So, aren't you cherry picking just a teensy-weensy bit?
Nope.
Not the same study at all.
The 2001 study I linked too showed quite clearly US Jews, Hindus, Anglican Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists and Muslims ALL had a higher percentage of graduates than agnostics and atheists in the US.
So it was a bullshit point based on the usual utter crap atheists put out to demonstrate their pathetic need to show superiority over the religious.
Though on a global scale you are right, atheists and the non religious overall are higher educated because they are more concentrated in more developed countries. However atheists have a lower birth rate too than the religious on a global scale and so overall as a percentage of the global population the number of non religious will decline by 2050 from 16% now to just 13% in 2050 according to Pew.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Boris Johnson will be visting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday to ask the Gulf states to produce more oil and help the UK reduce dependence on Russian oil.
The controversial visit has sparked an outcry of protest from UK lawmakers and rights groups, coming just days after Saudi Arabia said it executed 81 people in the largest known mass execution in the kingdom’s modern history.
Boris is right to seek alternative oil supplies in these exceptional circumstances along with other efforts to wean us off Russian oil
It is hard decisions like this that are required and war involves the strangest of bed fellows
Looks like we are about to do a deal with Iran to release Nazanin Zaghari - Ratcliffe and at the same time release Iran's oil to the west
I’ve read on here that Biden, Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Pelosi, Corbyn and even I think Sturgeon are suffering from dementia, strokes, or other brain-impairing illnesses.
It’s utter bullshit.
Biden: if that were your dad you'd be having a word with his GP. Harold Wilson and Ronald reagan we know for certain were demented in office. Others:
"Five percent of people ages 71 to 79, 24.2 percent of people 80 to 89, and 37.4 percent of those 90 years or older were estimated to have some type of dementia."
Those odds easily, easily justify a 70 (or 75 absolutely max) cut off for holding office. So you don't have to assess on a case by case basis.
I’m sure there is some cognitive decline as politicians age, and indeed are stressed by the demands of the job.
But every time I watch one of these videos - including the Pelosi one - I just see someone occasionally forgetting a word.
I do it myself.
Everyone has off-days, especially 70-somethings.
So assuming there are adequate numbers of under 70s, which there are, retire the 70 somethings as a precaution. There's a lower bound for US presidents, why no upper one?
What precaution, precisely, are we guarding against? A babbled press conference?
Dementia. You are plainly in the happy position of never having known anyone with a serious case. i can promise you it goes way beyond babbling at conferences.
Absolutely - for the last two years of my father’s life he could go from being incredibly sharp and on the ball re politics or general life to a dribbling mess who insisted I was my brother. It could be a switch in the space of a day, over a few days or weeks.
It’s easy to put it down to just “getting old” but it can take a while to realise what’s really going on and so there is clearly a risk that someone can be elected where “mis-speaks” are laughed off to a real problem where the president is wearing one black brogue and one cherry red penny loafer to thinking he’s Peppa Pig during an essential briefing.
It’s a grim reality but the consequences are huge especially when it’s not your dad having an issue remembering why you are taking them for a hospital appointment but instead when they are supposed to be digesting intelligence briefs and maybe declaring war…..
A friend lost her mother to dementia last week. She had been unable to recognise her daughter for the last couple of years, but her mothers husband reckoned it started 19 years before, just no one noticed but him.
My mother in law has it. Sometimes she's in a vaguely reasonable mood even though she doesn't really know who anyone is but most of the time it is terrible. "I want to be dead" is all to frequent, as is being surprisingly rough, even with her husband of nearly 70 years. We've had to hide all the knives.
What can you do? I'm quite sure if we went back 20 years she'd quite readily have told us to head for Switzerland but that isn't an option now.
The NHS seems to shrug and treat it as a social care problem and not an illness. And care homes however hard they try aren't really a suitable place to dump people, particularly in a pandemic when visiting is heavily limited.
Utter nightmare for all concerned. Cancer, however bad, has nothing on this.
We desperately need to do more research on it as the population gets older. My money is on it being virus or pathogen triggered, but who knows...
The rural English used to have “smothering parties”. Where a whole village would come round, get wildly drunk, then briskly suffocate the elderly demented person under blankets. Job done. No questions asked
Arguably more merciful than what we do today. Keep people alive for years, in grave mental pain
I would certainly trust a village 'jury' who knew someone as a member of the community to do the right thing far more than the social care system that doesn't know them from Eve, and probably also more than the close family.
I do wonder where we lost our way on this. Perhaps we (as a society) are too distant from reality, even after a pandemic. It is much easier to take an extremist 'life at all costs' position when you hide all the problems away.
As an aside, I do know that not everyone with dementia has behavioural problems. A neighbour also had it and was "fine" living at home until the end. I suppose you don't know how it is going to be until it is too late.
Honestly, and without wanting to push it too hard, my view is that it was the growth of 'the State' that did so much damage. People no longer look to their family, friends and neighbours as the first to turn to in good times and bad but instead 'the State'. Personal and social responsibility for ones friends and neighbours has become the exception rather than the norm.
Reliance on the state means that many voluntary organisations have essentially shut down. This is a diminution of civil society.
I’ve read on here that Biden, Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Pelosi, Corbyn and even I think Sturgeon are suffering from dementia, strokes, or other brain-impairing illnesses.
It’s utter bullshit.
Biden: if that were your dad you'd be having a word with his GP. Harold Wilson and Ronald reagan we know for certain were demented in office. Others:
"Five percent of people ages 71 to 79, 24.2 percent of people 80 to 89, and 37.4 percent of those 90 years or older were estimated to have some type of dementia."
Those odds easily, easily justify a 70 (or 75 absolutely max) cut off for holding office. So you don't have to assess on a case by case basis.
I’m sure there is some cognitive decline as politicians age, and indeed are stressed by the demands of the job.
But every time I watch one of these videos - including the Pelosi one - I just see someone occasionally forgetting a word.
I do it myself.
Everyone has off-days, especially 70-somethings.
So assuming there are adequate numbers of under 70s, which there are, retire the 70 somethings as a precaution. There's a lower bound for US presidents, why no upper one?
What precaution, precisely, are we guarding against? A babbled press conference?
Dementia. You are plainly in the happy position of never having known anyone with a serious case. i can promise you it goes way beyond babbling at conferences.
Absolutely - for the last two years of my father’s life he could go from being incredibly sharp and on the ball re politics or general life to a dribbling mess who insisted I was my brother. It could be a switch in the space of a day, over a few days or weeks.
It’s easy to put it down to just “getting old” but it can take a while to realise what’s really going on and so there is clearly a risk that someone can be elected where “mis-speaks” are laughed off to a real problem where the president is wearing one black brogue and one cherry red penny loafer to thinking he’s Peppa Pig during an essential briefing.
It’s a grim reality but the consequences are huge especially when it’s not your dad having an issue remembering why you are taking them for a hospital appointment but instead when they are supposed to be digesting intelligence briefs and maybe declaring war…..
A friend lost her mother to dementia last week. She had been unable to recognise her daughter for the last couple of years, but her mothers husband reckoned it started 19 years before, just no one noticed but him.
My mother in law has it. Sometimes she's in a vaguely reasonable mood even though she doesn't really know who anyone is but most of the time it is terrible. "I want to be dead" is all to frequent, as is being surprisingly rough, even with her husband of nearly 70 years. We've had to hide all the knives.
What can you do? I'm quite sure if we went back 20 years she'd quite readily have told us to head for Switzerland but that isn't an option now.
The NHS seems to shrug and treat it as a social care problem and not an illness. And care homes however hard they try aren't really a suitable place to dump people, particularly in a pandemic when visiting is heavily limited.
Utter nightmare for all concerned. Cancer, however bad, has nothing on this.
We desperately need to do more research on it as the population gets older. My money is on it being virus or pathogen triggered, but who knows...
The rural English used to have “smothering parties”. Where a whole village would come round, get wildly drunk, then briskly suffocate the elderly demented person under blankets. Job done. No questions asked
Arguably more merciful than what we do today. Keep people alive for years, in grave mental pain
I would certainly trust a village 'jury' who knew someone as a member of the community to do the right thing far more than the social care system that doesn't know them from Eve, and probably also more than the close family.
I do wonder where we lost our way on this. Perhaps we (as a society) are too distant from reality, even after a pandemic. It is much easier to take an extremist 'life at all costs' position when you hide all the problems away.
As an aside, I do know that not everyone with dementia has behavioural problems. A neighbour also had it and was "fine" living at home until the end. I suppose you don't know how it is going to be until it is too late.
Honestly, and without wanting to push it too hard, my view is that it was the growth of 'the State' that did so much damage. People no longer look to their family, friends and neighbours as the first to turn to in good times and bad but instead 'the State'. Personal and social responsibility for ones friends and neighbours has become the exception rather than the norm.
I don't think that true at all. There is a vast amount of care done by family and friends.
Not compared to the past. And it is more than just 'friends'. It is the whole community. Most people would be hard pressed to tell you who lived in the house 3 doors down these days.
According to ONS figures, the amount of unpaid time caring for other adults went up by 15% for males and 21% for females between 2000 and 2015:
Then all of a sudden: "Based on local and social media sources I can confirm that the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted a successful attack (again) on Kherson Airbase(again), which resulted in several Russian helicopters lost (again).We’re waiting for IMINT to confirm the full extent of the damage." https://twitter.com/konrad_muzyka/status/1503778054753107968
Holding is a lot harder than just taking. Apparently this is the 3rd day in a row they've lost at list one air asset there, which in itself says a lot...
Amusingly, the RuAF moved from positioning the helicopters in the more spread out northern area, which they were struggling to defend from constant attacks to the much smaller (hence more densely packed) southern area, which in theory would be easier to defend. So the Ukrainians just shelled them instead and knocked out at least 5 helicopters. https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1503836787533303818 (see thread).
Nothing to see here, we're doing our job, move on.
Why does her age matter?
Surely the story is that someone somewhere was searched by someone for some reason?
No, the story is that a child was strip searched in school by police, for no good reason.
For the avoidance of doubt, my comment was a joke; an attempt to get the maximum number of "some"s into a comment, and a reaction to the ridiculous tweet which took in menstruation.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
From the page you linked to:
According to a 2015 global survey by Gallup International, the most religious had lower levels of education
So, aren't you cherry picking just a teensy-weensy bit?
Nope.
Not the same study at all.
The 2001 study I linked too showed quite clearly US Jews, Hindus, Anglican Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists and Muslims ALL had a higher percentage of graduates than agnostics and atheists in the US.
So it was a bullshit point based on the usual utter crap atheists put out to demonstrate their pathetic need to show superiority over the religious.
Though on a global scale you are right, atheists and the non religious overall are higher educated because they are more concentrated in more developed countries. However atheists have a lower birth rate too than the religious on a global scale and so overall as a percentage of the global population the number of non religious will decline by 2050 from 16% now to just 13% in 2050 according to Pew.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Anotgher interesting article from the source that Topping found the other day - there was speculation here that the writer was pro-Russian but masquerading as critical, but this one seems pretty scathing about Putin, while exploring what a possible deal might look like:
Nothing to see here, we're doing our job, move on.
Why does her age matter?
Surely the story is that someone somewhere was searched by someone for some reason?
No, the story is that a child was strip searched in school by police, for no good reason.
For the avoidance of doubt, my comment was a joke; an attempt to get the maximum number of "some"s into a comment, and a reaction to the ridiculous tweet which took in menstruation.
Fair enough. The preoccupation with the tweet is hardly the point, though. Did you read the actual story ?
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
From the page you linked to:
According to a 2015 global survey by Gallup International, the most religious had lower levels of education
So, aren't you cherry picking just a teensy-weensy bit?
Nope.
Not the same study at all.
The 2001 study I linked too showed quite clearly US Jews, Hindus, Anglican Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists and Muslims ALL had a higher percentage of graduates than agnostics and atheists in the US.
So it was a bullshit point based on the usual utter crap atheists put put out to demonstrate their pathetic need to show superiority over the religious.
Though on a global scale you are right, atheists overall are higher educated because they are more concentrated in more developed countries. However atheists have a lower birth rate too than the religious one global scale and so overall as a percentage of the global population the number of non religious will decline by 2050 from 16% now to just 13% in 2050 according to Pew.
We have had this discussion before. You do realise that religious people can have atheists children so you can not deduce that there will be more religious people because they have a higher birth rate. In fact I presume that the level of religious belief has declined over time as a direct of just that, following improved education in the developed world. Education also leads to reduced birth rate. You are getting cause and effect mixed up.
From yesterday, I note I was laughed at by some for suggesting China's goal was to deprecate the dollar as the world's reserve currency, I see from today's Wall Street Journal that Saudi Arabia is in talks to start pricing its oil in yuan.
I repeat what I said yesterday - dumb people wage war with tanks, smart people wage war with economics.
The Yuan can't be the world's reserve currency for two and a half reasons:
(1) It's not really freely convertible (2) If it became the world's reserve currency, others would peg their currencies to it, and therefore China would lose the ability to devalue and (2.5) The world's reserve currency is pretty much always that of a debtor nation: that is, there needs to be enough of the currency in circulation for people to use it at the reserve. Which requires regular money creation through the act of borrowing. (2.75) There aren't enough Yuan denominated assets for people to buy.
Assuming that the true rate of inflation in the US is 10%ish and, according to some, hits 20% in the next year... what happens if China announces it has pegged the value of its currency to the value of the gold in its vaults?
With regard to the hegemony of the dollar, I like to think of how quickly gbp lost its hegemony after WW2. And also the matrix: "you think that's air you're breathing?" What gives the dollar its present value, other than the fact that people trade in dollars? If they start trading in yuan, what happens then?
I don't think the pound was anywhere near hegemonic in 1946. Indeed, I think it lost its status a long time before that. (Indeed, Bretton Woods in 1944 formalised Gold->US Dollar->EveryoneElse and tied pretty much everyone to the gold standard, albeit indirectly.)
Re reserve currencies, the point is that there needs to be a lot of that currency in circulation. There is not as much Yuan in circulation (by perhaps 15-20x) as compared to the US Dollar. That means that if all oil trading was denominated in Yuan, then that would create upward pressure on the currency due to demand for it. Without a significant quantity of Yuan in circulation (which essentially requires the Chinese government to be a net borrower) it is very hard for it to become the reserve currency.
Nothing to see here, we're doing our job, move on.
Why does her age matter?
Surely the story is that someone somewhere was searched by someone for some reason?
No, the story is that a child was strip searched in school by police, for no good reason.
For the avoidance of doubt, my comment was a joke; an attempt to get the maximum number of "some"s into a comment, and a reaction to the ridiculous tweet which took in menstruation.
Fair enough. The preoccupation with the tweet is hardly the point, though. Did you read the actual story ?
No, why would I read a story before commenting on it?
Anotgher interesting article from the source that Topping found the other day - there was speculation here that the writer was pro-Russian but masquerading as critical, but this one seems pretty scathing about Putin, while exploring what a possible deal might look like:
Here's one he wrote after Crimea was annexed, where he waxes lyrical about Putin achieving hegemony over Europe in order to rival China, and says that "Putin has time on his side" because "the downside of the democratic system is that typically few politicians in the West think further ahead than the next election campaign".
From yesterday, I note I was laughed at by some for suggesting China's goal was to deprecate the dollar as the world's reserve currency, I see from today's Wall Street Journal that Saudi Arabia is in talks to start pricing its oil in yuan.
I repeat what I said yesterday - dumb people wage war with tanks, smart people wage war with economics.
The Yuan can't be the world's reserve currency for two and a half reasons:
(1) It's not really freely convertible (2) If it became the world's reserve currency, others would peg their currencies to it, and therefore China would lose the ability to devalue and (2.5) The world's reserve currency is pretty much always that of a debtor nation: that is, there needs to be enough of the currency in circulation for people to use it at the reserve. Which requires regular money creation through the act of borrowing. (2.75) There aren't enough Yuan denominated assets for people to buy.
Assuming that the true rate of inflation in the US is 10%ish and, according to some, hits 20% in the next year... what happens if China announces it has pegged the value of its currency to the value of the gold in its vaults?
With regard to the hegemony of the dollar, I like to think of how quickly gbp lost its hegemony after WW2. And also the matrix: "you think that's air you're breathing?" What gives the dollar its present value, other than the fact that people trade in dollars? If they start trading in yuan, what happens then?
I don't think the pound was anywhere near hegemonic in 1946. Indeed, I think it lost its status a long time before that. (Indeed, Bretton Woods in 1944 formalised Gold->US Dollar->EveryoneElse and tied pretty much everyone to the gold standard, albeit indirectly.)
Re reserve currencies, the point is that there needs to be a lot of that currency in circulation. There is not as much Yuan in circulation (by perhaps 15-20x) as compared to the US Dollar. That means that if all oil trading was denominated in Yuan, then that would create upward pressure on the currency due to demand for it. Without a significant quantity of Yuan in circulation (which essentially requires the Chinese government to be a net borrower) it is very hard for it to become the reserve currency.
Thank you, that makes sense.
I still think China's long term goal is to deprecate the dollar as a reserve currency, even if the intermediate aim is to encourage trading in a wider range of currencies. They may not challenge for hegemony any time soon, but the WSJ article I linked to shows that they are at least aiming to compete.
My thesis here is that the US doesn't rule the world through tanks or drones, it rules the world through dollars. That is why sanctions on Russia are so powerful. China needs a seat at the table in order to wage economic war effectively, that is why it desires to deprecate the dollar.
If I were a Chinese strategist in government now, I would not be asking how we take Taiwain, I'd be askiing how we destabilise the dollar.
Something has just struck me about the information we are getting from the war in Ukraine: we are seeing lots of video released by the Ukrainian side but I can't remember seeing any video of combat from the Russians. Is that because of selection bias by me or (i.e. it is out there but I haven't found it yet) or is it because they haven't released anything like as much?
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
As on most problems in life Pratchett sums it up perfectly:
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they’ve found it"
Jack Detsch @JackDetsch · 29m BREAKING. Russia is seeking to gather more troops to replace military casualties in Ukraine, redeploying forces from abroad: UK Defense Intelligence Agency.
🇷🇺 is bringing troops from Eastern Mil District, Pacific Fleet, Syria, Armenia, and private contractors to hold ground.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
As on most problems in life Pratchett sums it up perfectly:
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they’ve found it"
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Nothing to see here, we're doing our job, move on.
Why does her age matter?
Surely the story is that someone somewhere was searched by someone for some reason?
No, the story is that a child was strip searched in school by police, for no good reason.
For the avoidance of doubt, my comment was a joke; an attempt to get the maximum number of "some"s into a comment, and a reaction to the ridiculous tweet which took in menstruation.
Fair enough. The preoccupation with the tweet is hardly the point, though. Did you read the actual story ?
No, why would I read a story before commenting on it?
I've not read a single story, tweet or PB post in over 5 years. Keeps me fresh to make posts of my own, and I win all my debates that way.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
From the page you linked to:
According to a 2015 global survey by Gallup International, the most religious had lower levels of education
So, aren't you cherry picking just a teensy-weensy bit?
Nope.
Not the same study at all.
The 2001 study I linked too showed quite clearly US Jews, Hindus, Anglican Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists and Muslims ALL had a higher percentage of graduates than agnostics and atheists in the US.
So it was a bullshit point based on the usual utter crap atheists put put out to demonstrate their pathetic need to show superiority over the religious.
Though on a global scale you are right, atheists overall are higher educated because they are more concentrated in more developed countries. However atheists have a lower birth rate too than the religious one global scale and so overall as a percentage of the global population the number of non religious will decline by 2050 from 16% now to just 13% in 2050 according to Pew.
We have had this discussion before. You do realise that religious people can have atheists children so you can not deduce that there will be more religious people because they have a higher birth rate. In fact I presume that the level of religious belief has declined over time as a direct of just that, following improved education in the developed world. Education also leads to reduced birth rate. You are getting cause and effect mixed up.
If you had actually bothered to read the article you would see there already is accounted for a 62 million growth in non religious from switching in adulthood. Leading to an overall increase in the global non religious population of 100 million.
But it is not enough as the population of Christians and Muslims will grow even faster. Hence having a significant impact in the next stage of the global culture wars
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Garden’s points about masking are fair and reasonable… but there is one massive, obvious more prosaic flaw which is - even now - rarely mentioned. They make it much harder to hear what people are saying. Apart from the muffled vocals, I have realised over the past two years that we all lip-read to some extent.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Garden’s points about masking are fair and reasonable… but there is one massive, obvious more prosaic flaw which is - even now - rarely mentioned. They make it much harder to hear what people are saying. Apart from the muffled vocals, I have realised over the past two years that we all lip-read to some extent.
I'm going - very slowly - deaf.
In general, this is a positive as I've never been particularly interested in what other people have to say, and this makes them easier to ignore.
But just occasionally, in shops and the like, it's a pain. And - as you say - masking makes it worse.
Garden’s points about masking are fair and reasonable… but there is one massive, obvious more prosaic flaw which is - even now - rarely mentioned. They make it much harder to hear what people are saying. Apart from the muffled vocals, I have realised over the past two years that we all lip-read to some extent.
Very true
My somewhat spectrumy older daughter insists on wearing a mask as much as she can, out of shyness, and I now understand about half of what she says, despite her not saying anything differently. The difference is: she wears a mask, and now I can no longer lip-read
Garden’s points about masking are fair and reasonable… but there is one massive, obvious more prosaic flaw which is - even now - rarely mentioned. They make it much harder to hear what people are saying. Apart from the muffled vocals, I have realised over the past two years that we all lip-read to some extent.
Very true
My somewhat spectrumy older daughter insists on wearing a mask as much as she can, out of shyness, and I now understand about half of what she says, despite her not saying anything differently. The difference is: she wears a mask, and now I can no longer lip-read
My daughter wears a mask "to hide acne".
But the only acne she has is in the mask area... and so I can't help think that the mask is actually causing the acne.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
From yesterday, I note I was laughed at by some for suggesting China's goal was to deprecate the dollar as the world's reserve currency, I see from today's Wall Street Journal that Saudi Arabia is in talks to start pricing its oil in yuan.
I repeat what I said yesterday - dumb people wage war with tanks, smart people wage war with economics.
The Yuan can't be the world's reserve currency for two and a half reasons:
(1) It's not really freely convertible (2) If it became the world's reserve currency, others would peg their currencies to it, and therefore China would lose the ability to devalue and (2.5) The world's reserve currency is pretty much always that of a debtor nation: that is, there needs to be enough of the currency in circulation for people to use it at the reserve. Which requires regular money creation through the act of borrowing. (2.75) There aren't enough Yuan denominated assets for people to buy.
Assuming that the true rate of inflation in the US is 10%ish and, according to some, hits 20% in the next year... what happens if China announces it has pegged the value of its currency to the value of the gold in its vaults?
With regard to the hegemony of the dollar, I like to think of how quickly gbp lost its hegemony after WW2. And also the matrix: "you think that's air you're breathing?" What gives the dollar its present value, other than the fact that people trade in dollars? If they start trading in yuan, what happens then?
I don't think the pound was anywhere near hegemonic in 1946. Indeed, I think it lost its status a long time before that. (Indeed, Bretton Woods in 1944 formalised Gold->US Dollar->EveryoneElse and tied pretty much everyone to the gold standard, albeit indirectly.)
Re reserve currencies, the point is that there needs to be a lot of that currency in circulation. There is not as much Yuan in circulation (by perhaps 15-20x) as compared to the US Dollar. That means that if all oil trading was denominated in Yuan, then that would create upward pressure on the currency due to demand for it. Without a significant quantity of Yuan in circulation (which essentially requires the Chinese government to be a net borrower) it is very hard for it to become the reserve currency.
Thank you, that makes sense.
I still think China's long term goal is to deprecate the dollar as a reserve currency, even if the intermediate aim is to encourage trading in a wider range of currencies. They may not challenge for hegemony any time soon, but the WSJ article I linked to shows that they are at least aiming to compete.
My thesis here is that the US doesn't rule the world through tanks or drones, it rules the world through dollars. That is why sanctions on Russia are so powerful. China needs a seat at the table in order to wage economic war effectively, that is why it desires to deprecate the dollar.
If I were a Chinese strategist in government now, I would not be asking how we take Taiwain, I'd be askiing how we destabilise the dollar.
If Russia withdraws from Ukraine might have a point, little sign of that yet even despite the sanctions.
The Chinese leadership is also ideologically committed to reuniting One China incorporating Taiwan and that may well still mean at some point Beijing ordering an invasion of it
Garden’s points about masking are fair and reasonable… but there is one massive, obvious more prosaic flaw which is - even now - rarely mentioned. They make it much harder to hear what people are saying. Apart from the muffled vocals, I have realised over the past two years that we all lip-read to some extent.
Very true
My somewhat spectrumy older daughter insists on wearing a mask as much as she can, out of shyness, and I now understand about half of what she says, despite her not saying anything differently. The difference is: she wears a mask, and now I can no longer lip-read
My daughter wears a mask "to hide acne".
But the only acne she has is in the mask area... and so I can't help think that the mask is actually causing the acne.
I believe this is actually proven. Masks cause acne and eye diseases. We are not to meant to wear them. But for shy or insecure teens (ie, most teens) they are an unfortunate godsend
I pray we have not done permanent damage to an entire cohort of kids
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Garden’s points about masking are fair and reasonable… but there is one massive, obvious more prosaic flaw which is - even now - rarely mentioned. They make it much harder to hear what people are saying. Apart from the muffled vocals, I have realised over the past two years that we all lip-read to some extent.
Very true
My somewhat spectrumy older daughter insists on wearing a mask as much as she can, out of shyness, and I now understand about half of what she says, despite her not saying anything differently. The difference is: she wears a mask, and now I can no longer lip-read
That’s difficult.
One of the things I’ve found awkward is asking people to repeat what they have said, then receive another muffle without any lip clues. If you ask someone to repeat what they have said twice, they often bridle. It is annoying for them, and frustrating for me.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
It is just your OPINION that God exists. It is not a FACT.
It is for me as I have faith.
I do not care what your view is on it
No, it is your OPINION that he exists. It is NOT a FACT.
It is a fact as I have faith in it.
It is NOT a fact, it just your OPINION that he exists.
Rather telling remark about belief in something making it fact. Revealing.
It means everyone can have their own facts too.
You cannot disprove God either
I've no desire to attempt it, your faith and that of anyone is their business and more power to you. I wasn't making a point about God, but about your interpretation of what a fact is.
According to your logic if I sincerely believe the world is flat that is a fact. It is a fact because I have faith the world is flat.
By your own words you cannot claim I am being unfactual if I am a sincere flat earther. If I believe sincerely Boris is a lizard man that is a fact, by your own words, so long as I believe it.
Now, is that really what you meant to say or were you just having fun professing your faith?
You clearly want to have an argument about faith, but instead you've just rendered proving anything impossible. If Putin thinks Ukraine is Russia? Fact now. If Corbyn believes Israel is source of all the worlds ills? Fact. If Farage thinks the EU is controlling our thoughts? Fact.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Garden’s points about masking are fair and reasonable… but there is one massive, obvious more prosaic flaw which is - even now - rarely mentioned. They make it much harder to hear what people are saying. Apart from the muffled vocals, I have realised over the past two years that we all lip-read to some extent.
Very true
My somewhat spectrumy older daughter insists on wearing a mask as much as she can, out of shyness, and I now understand about half of what she says, despite her not saying anything differently. The difference is: she wears a mask, and now I can no longer lip-read
That’s difficult.
One of the things I’ve found awkward is asking people to repeat what they have said, then receive another muffle without any lip clues. If you ask someone to repeat what they have said twice, they often bridle. It is annoying for them, and frustrating for me.
I am, unfortunately, pretty much convinced we have done grievous damage to the psychosocial education of a billion kids
Garden’s points about masking are fair and reasonable… but there is one massive, obvious more prosaic flaw which is - even now - rarely mentioned. They make it much harder to hear what people are saying. Apart from the muffled vocals, I have realised over the past two years that we all lip-read to some extent.
Very true
My somewhat spectrumy older daughter insists on wearing a mask as much as she can, out of shyness, and I now understand about half of what she says, despite her not saying anything differently. The difference is: she wears a mask, and now I can no longer lip-read
My daughter wears a mask "to hide acne".
But the only acne she has is in the mask area... and so I can't help think that the mask is actually causing the acne.
I believe this is actually proven. Masks cause acne and eye diseases. We are not to meant to wear them. But for shy or insecure teens (ie, most teens) they are an unfortunate godsend
I pray we have not done permanent damage to an entire cohort of kids
It's quite hard to permanently damage kids. I know. I've tried.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
It is just your OPINION that God exists. It is not a FACT.
It is for me as I have faith.
I do not care what your view is on it
No, it is your OPINION that he exists. It is NOT a FACT.
It is a fact as I have faith in it.
It is NOT a fact, it just your OPINION that he exists.
Rather telling remark about belief in something making it fact. Revealing.
It means everyone can have their own facts too.
You cannot disprove God either
I've no desire to attempt it, your faith and that of anyone is their business and more power to you. I wasn't making a point about God, but about your interpretation of what a fact is.
According to your logic if I sincerely believe the world is flat that is a fact. It is a fact because I have faith the world is flat.
By your own words you cannot claim I am being unfactual if I am a sincere flat earther. If I believe sincerely Boris is a lizard man that is a fact, by your own words, so long as I believe it.
Now, is that really what you meant to say or were you just having fun professing your faith?
You can prove the world is round, you cannot disprove God or that God created the world and the universe. That is the difference
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
My small (6) sample vox pop of elderly Red Wall voters regarding Ukrainian refugees resulted in a firm zero. Go to the first country. We are full. Rapists. They have more rights than we have. We are an island. No one would take us. The propaganda has been deeply seeded. Bit depressing really.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
It is just your OPINION that God exists. It is not a FACT.
It is for me as I have faith.
I do not care what your view is on it
No, it is your OPINION that he exists. It is NOT a FACT.
It is a fact as I have faith in it.
It is NOT a fact, it just your OPINION that he exists.
Rather telling remark about belief in something making it fact. Revealing.
It means everyone can have their own facts too.
It is an interesting way of defining faith and probably not how I would express it. For me, I have not a moments doubt that God exists but that is based on what I have seen and experienced over the past 10 years. To me those experiences are factual (I was there, I saw it) but to anyone else they would be considered opinion.
The United States Senate just unanimously approved a bill condemning President Vladimir V. Putin and Russian forces for “committing flagrant acts of aggression and other atrocities rising to the level of crimes against humanity and war crimes” against the Ukrainian people. The legislation encourages the International Criminal Court to authorize investigations into those alleged war crimes.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
It is just your OPINION that God exists. It is not a FACT.
It is for me as I have faith.
I do not care what your view is on it
No, it is your OPINION that he exists. It is NOT a FACT.
It is a fact as I have faith in it.
It is NOT a fact, it just your OPINION that he exists.
Rather telling remark about belief in something making it fact. Revealing.
It means everyone can have their own facts too.
You cannot disprove God either
I can. No such thing. And that is a fact as I have faith in it
There is no faith in atheism, just a belief in nothing
Absence of belief is not belief of absence.
Yes it is, it is a belief in nothing.
We come from nothing, we go to nothing, no defining moral code, nothing.
Hence the vast majority of the global population like me are still believers in the divine
What is the defining moral code of the religious? Go to church, pray towards Mecca, don't eat beef, dhyāna, observance of the halakha?
The Koran and Bible and Torah while they differ on some things all abide essentially by the core 10 Commandments as the basic laws of human society for starters
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
According to a 2012 study by Gallup International "59% of the world said that they think of themselves as religious person, 23% think of themselves as not religious whereas 13% think of themselves as convinced atheists".
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
So that is not a fact. Just your ill researched crap
It is just your OPINION that God exists. It is not a FACT.
It is for me as I have faith.
I do not care what your view is on it
No, it is your OPINION that he exists. It is NOT a FACT.
It is a fact as I have faith in it.
It is NOT a fact, it just your OPINION that he exists.
Rather telling remark about belief in something making it fact. Revealing.
It means everyone can have their own facts too.
You cannot disprove God either
I've no desire to attempt it, your faith and that of anyone is their business and more power to you. I wasn't making a point about God, but about your interpretation of what a fact is.
According to your logic if I sincerely believe the world is flat that is a fact. It is a fact because I have faith the world is flat.
By your own words you cannot claim I am being unfactual if I am a sincere flat earther. If I believe sincerely Boris is a lizard man that is a fact, by your own words, so long as I believe it.
Now, is that really what you meant to say or were you just having fun professing your faith?
You can prove the world is round, you cannot disprove God or that God created the world and the universe. That is the difference
So what you're saying now is that facts are things that can be proven like the earth being round...but facts are also things that cannot be proven that you want to believe?
I am deeply confused what your point is. Why are some facts provable and some not provable yet both are facts? But other unprovable things are not facts.
This seems to come down to what is a fact to you personally. Will you at least not be hypocrite and allow that a hindu's beliefs are also fact as you cannot disprove them?
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
Sweden today activated national service personnel: anybody who has done military training (national service or professional), irrespective of how long ago, is now under military command.
We have an unusual civic responsibility (the only other example seems to be Norway) where every Swedish citizen between 16 and 70, men and women, is part of Totalförsvaret (”Total Defence”). We all have to play our part in defending the state. There are three strands:
1. Military service, already activated (see above) 2. State war service, all public employees (state, regional and council) are obliged to serve the state in whatever capacity the government deems fit, not yet activated. 3. Civil war service, everyone else age 16-70 not included in the above two categories, not yet activated
Sounds pretty authoritarian.
Have you herring-munching wife-swappers decided to join NATO yet?
Although most Swedes profess to be agnostic or atheist (the only other country with such a majority being Scotland), it is still a pretty judgemental Lutheran culture. Conforming is inbuilt in Swedish society. What you perceive to be authoritarian, Swedes consider to be safe and comforting.
We eat a lot of herring. Our sexual habits are probably more tame than your fantasy.
And No is the very clear answer to your final question.
56% of Swedes identity as Lutheran and China is much more atheist than even Scotland as is North Korea
The Chinese aren't particularly atheist. They may well say they are. Their religions were never particularly organised and top-down as ours. But religious based "superstition", or folk beliefs, and private devotions are common.
China has by far the most atheists in the world.
Almost 50% of Chinese are convinced atheists, not even agnostic
The Communist government discourages organised religion as a challenge to loyalty to the party and certainly organised religion without a government licence.
Folk religion and Shinto etc is stronger in Japan than China in some surveys though unless it includes belief in a God as with the Abrahamic religions is effectively atheism anyway
Is God's existence based on facts or opinions?
Religious people have on average significantly lower levels of education and lower levels of intelligence than agnostics/atheists. That's a fact. Draw your own opinions from that.
Bullshit.
A 2017 US study showed Jews, Unitarians, Episcopalian Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans and even Muslims had a significantly higher level of education than the average American and were significantly more likely to be graduates than atheists and agnostics.
According to a 2012 study by Gallup International "59% of the world said that they think of themselves as religious person, 23% think of themselves as not religious whereas 13% think of themselves as convinced atheists".
So a 36% majority for the religious over the non religious and a 46% majority for the religious over atheists.
As I have already pointed out by 2050 the non religious will decline as a share of the global population. That will further boost my side in the global culture war over yours
Comments
You could both be in trouble.
Edit: I think it is Valery who is the CoS, and Vitaly who was killed, the son.
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71% of housewives in East Lancashire and 81% in Hertfordshire expressed an interest in the concept of exotic ice-creams. Only 8% in Hertfordshire and 14% in Lancashire expressed positive hostility, whilst 5% expressed latent hostility. In Hertfordshire, 96% of the 50% who formed 20% of consumer spending were in favour. 0.6% told us where we could put our exotic ice creams.
Otherwise they'd be as good as atheists.
Super!
According to a 2015 global survey by Gallup International, the most religious had lower levels of education
So, aren't you cherry picking just a teensy-weensy bit?
https://twitter.com/phildstewart/status/1503858481199202315
Breaking: Japan to revoke Russia's most-favoured nation trade status over Ukraine - NHK
BBC News - Swansea tidal lagoon: 'Significant' steps for £1.7bn project
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-60757939
With regard to the hegemony of the dollar, I like to think of how quickly gbp lost its hegemony after WW2. And also the matrix: "you think that's air you're breathing?" What gives the dollar its present value, other than the fact that people trade in dollars? If they start trading in yuan, what happens then?
The controversial visit has sparked an outcry of protest from UK lawmakers and rights groups, coming just days after Saudi Arabia said it executed 81 people in the largest known mass execution in the kingdom’s modern history.
Maybe other constituency parties/associations (not just Labour, anyone) could do the same? I'll report on whether it works well.
Then all of a sudden: "Based on local and social media sources I can confirm that the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted a successful attack (again) on Kherson Airbase(again), which resulted in several Russian helicopters lost (again).We’re waiting for IMINT to confirm the full extent of the damage." https://twitter.com/konrad_muzyka/status/1503778054753107968
Here's the photographic proof via satellite:
https://twitter.com/JosephHDempsey/status/1503864619932205065
Holding is a lot harder than just taking. Apparently this is the 3rd day in a row they've lost at list one air asset there, which in itself says a lot...
Not the same study at all.
The 2001 study I linked too showed quite clearly US Jews, Hindus, Anglican Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists and Muslims ALL had a higher percentage of graduates than agnostics and atheists in the US.
So it was a bullshit point based on the usual utter crap atheists put out to demonstrate their pathetic need to show superiority over the religious.
Though on a global scale you are right, atheists and the non religious overall are higher educated because they are more concentrated in more developed countries. However atheists have a lower birth rate too than the religious on a global scale and so overall as a percentage of the global population the number of non religious will decline by 2050 from 16% now to just 13% in 2050 according to Pew.
https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/
The future belongs to we the religious
It is hard decisions like this that are required and war involves the strangest of bed fellows
Looks like we are about to do a deal with Iran to release Nazanin Zaghari - Ratcliffe and at the same time release Iran's oil to the west
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/satelliteaccounts/articles/changesinthevalueanddivisionofunpaidcareworkintheuk/2000to2015
Probably reflecting the ageing UK population, but the opposite trend to your post.
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1503836787533303818 (see thread).
I do not care what your view is on it
https://www.intellinews.com/russo-ukraine-peace-negotiations-turn-on-the-worst-possible-acceptable-deal-238112/?source=ukraine
The preoccupation with the tweet is hardly the point, though. Did you read the actual story ?
Re reserve currencies, the point is that there needs to be a lot of that currency in circulation. There is not as much Yuan in circulation (by perhaps 15-20x) as compared to the US Dollar. That means that if all oil trading was denominated in Yuan, then that would create upward pressure on the currency due to demand for it. Without a significant quantity of Yuan in circulation (which essentially requires the Chinese government to be a net borrower) it is very hard for it to become the reserve currency.
https://www.bne.eu/moscow-blog-putin-s-vision-building-a-greater-europe-by-2050-500444156/
I still think China's long term goal is to deprecate the dollar as a reserve currency, even if the intermediate aim is to encourage trading in a wider range of currencies. They may not challenge for hegemony any time soon, but the WSJ article I linked to shows that they are at least aiming to compete.
My thesis here is that the US doesn't rule the world through tanks or drones, it rules the world through dollars. That is why sanctions on Russia are so powerful. China needs a seat at the table in order to wage economic war effectively, that is why it desires to deprecate the dollar.
If I were a Chinese strategist in government now, I would not be asking how we take Taiwain, I'd be askiing how we destabilise the dollar.
Jack Detsch
@JackDetsch
·
29m
BREAKING. Russia is seeking to gather more troops to replace military casualties in Ukraine, redeploying forces from abroad: UK Defense Intelligence Agency.
🇷🇺 is bringing troops from Eastern Mil District, Pacific Fleet, Syria, Armenia, and private contractors to hold ground.
It means everyone can have their own facts too.
But it is not enough as the population of Christians and Muslims will grow even faster. Hence having a significant impact in the next stage of the global culture wars
Which is all that matters on this issue
In general, this is a positive as I've never been particularly interested in what other people have to say, and this makes them easier to ignore.
But just occasionally, in shops and the like, it's a pain. And - as you say - masking makes it worse.
My somewhat spectrumy older daughter insists on wearing a mask as much as she can, out of shyness, and I now understand about half of what she says, despite her not saying anything differently. The difference is: she wears a mask, and now I can no longer lip-read
But the only acne she has is in the mask area... and so I can't help think that the mask is actually causing the acne.
The Chinese leadership is also ideologically committed to reuniting One China incorporating Taiwan and that may well still mean at some point Beijing ordering an invasion of it
I pray we have not done permanent damage to an entire cohort of kids
One of the things I’ve found awkward is asking people to repeat what they have said, then receive another muffle without any lip clues. If you ask someone to repeat what they have said twice, they often bridle. It is annoying for them, and frustrating for me.
My religious faith is absolute and rock solid and will be until my dying day
According to your logic if I sincerely believe the world is flat that is a fact. It is a fact because I have faith the world is flat.
By your own words you cannot claim I am being unfactual if I am a sincere flat earther. If I believe sincerely Boris is a lizard man that is a fact, by your own words, so long as I believe it.
Now, is that really what you meant to say or were you just having fun professing your faith?
You clearly want to have an argument about faith, but instead you've just rendered proving anything impossible. If Putin thinks Ukraine is Russia? Fact now. If Corbyn believes Israel is source of all the worlds ills? Fact. If Farage thinks the EU is controlling our thoughts? Fact.
We come from nothing, we go to nothing, no defining moral code, nothing.
Hence the vast majority of the global population like me are still believers in the divine
Let's hope they can "bounce back"
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/03/covid-babies-toddler-growth-development/627030/
Go to the first country. We are full. Rapists. They have more rights than we have. We are an island. No one would take us.
The propaganda has been deeply seeded.
Bit depressing really.
The United States Senate just unanimously approved a bill condemning President Vladimir V. Putin and Russian forces for “committing flagrant acts of aggression and other atrocities rising to the level of crimes against humanity and war crimes” against the Ukrainian people. The legislation encourages the International Criminal Court to authorize investigations into those alleged war crimes.
NY Times
82% are religious if you add in Buddhists and folk religions.
Globally my side is still very much in the ascendant, not yours
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations
Wordle 270 3/6
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It's somewhat worrying how many prefer to attack our PM without even a glancing blow at Putin.
Can they even pronounce unequivocal?
According to a 2012 study by Gallup International "59% of the world said that they think of themselves as religious person, 23% think of themselves as not religious whereas 13% think of themselves as convinced atheists".
I am deeply confused what your point is. Why are some facts provable and some not provable yet both are facts? But other unprovable things are not facts.
This seems to come down to what is a fact to you personally. Will you at least not be hypocrite and allow that a hindu's beliefs are also fact as you cannot disprove them?
I fear the Yulbrynnian Bald wouldn’t grow, though the Brazilian Bald surely would and double as a credit card pouch.
Kira Rudik @kiraincongress
https://twitter.com/kiraincongress/status/1503824459538608143
As I have already pointed out by 2050 the non religious will decline as a share of the global population. That will further boost my side in the global culture war over yours