Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I'm not sure I'd even have JJ in my top 10 angriest and sweariest people on here!
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
Pity, he did OK in my view and he won the confidence vote narrowly even if not by a big enough margin
It's a shame that a large minority of Tories in the Assembly cannot accept that there is a place for devo-scepticism. Hopefully a new leader will be as willing to court that part of the electorate as much, or more than RT Davies was.
If Welsh voters want to scrap the Senedd they will vote Reform, the Tories are better off being a distinct centre right pro Union and pro devolution party
Reform appear to be moving from their anti-devo line ...because it puts most voters off! If WCon elect a new pro-devo leader (I predict Tom Giffard) then this will open the door for a Rainbow coalition at next Senedd election.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers? If you pull a string taut, it's a straight line. If you attach a weight to a string, it's a vertical line. If yiu put a bubble in a glass tube, it's a horizontal line. If you hang a chain from two points, trace the points and turn it upside down, that's an arch. If you measure the diagonals of a four-sided shape and they are the same, it's a rectangle.
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression? You have to die of something. We cured most bacterial diseases, so you have to die of something else. We cured hunger (ish!) so now we have obesity.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
26. Why can't anyone give accounts in ordinary English of how replicable life might have started?
27. How come mirrors reflect the wrong way round yet we all accept this as totally normal?
Mysteriously they reflect the wrong way round right/left but not top and bottom.
I've just tested that by rotating my head 90 degrees in front of the mirror so as to get a top and bottom eye as well as a right and left one. Yes, it's true.
It also makes no difference if you rotate the mirror.
(no substitute for actually doing it rather than getting bogged down in theory)
The question is bollocks anyway. There's no L/R reversal. L/R behaves just the same as top/bottom.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
Errr: because there aren't very many Southern Hemisphere city pairs where it would make sense?
I mean, you would fly over Antarctica to fly from Sydney to Rio. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights.
Great circle routes….
There are lots more cities in the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern. It is therefore much more likely that there are Great Circle routes in the North, than the South.
The population of the southern hemisphere living above 40° latitude (so closer to the pole than Naples) is around 4 million, about 3/8 each in NZ and Argentina and about 1/8 each in Chile and Tasmania.
That is quite staggering when you think about it.
Almost 4 billion people live north of 40 degrees latitude - including essentially all of Europe, most of Asia, and large chunks of North America.
Just 4 million (one thousandth of that), live a similar distance from the pole in the South.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers? If you pull a string taut, it's a straight line. If you attach a weight to a string, it's a vertical line. If yiu put a bubble in a glass tube, it's a horizontal line. If you hang a chain from two points, trace the points and turn it upside down, that's an arch. If you measure the diagonals of a four-sided shape and they are the same, it's a rectangle.
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression? You have to die of something. We cured most bacterial diseases, so you have to die of something else. We cured hunger (ish!) so now we have obesity.
Aha!!!
I see you blatantly ignore the most piercing question of all:
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
Why? Why ignore THAT one? You don’t have an answer, do you??
"More than 600 Brazilians deported by Home Office on three secret flights Record number of deportees includes children who may have spent most of their lives in the UK"
Hmm. Sounds like Sir Keir is in earnest about persecuting immigrants. Kemi and Nigel need to get their acts together over this. If Sir Keir successfully addresses the immigration problem - and it looks increasingly like he will - then those two will be politically irrelevant. The British Right are making a massive mistake if they think it's all going to fall back into their laps as it did with Trump.
It’s a nice deal if you’re a Brazilian. Overstay on your tourist visa and work in the informal economy over the summer. Then the British government will pay for your return flight and given you a few thousand as a bonus.
Used to be an even better deal: have the good fortune to have a Portuguese grandparent, spend six years in Portugal working in a bar, freedom of movement to London.
Watching Starmer turn on the Christmas lights at No 10 as if he was opening an archive of medieval charters with an audience of retired bishops sort of reminds you of how Boris did that sort of thing.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I think we have to give @JosiasJessop a break here. I don't find his posts angry most of the time and even on this one only the first and last very short paragraphs are and only slightly and the provocation is extreme.
Leon does post utter nonsense most of the time and sometimes it is difficult to tell if he is serious or just trying to have fun. The IQ comment is deserved because he often posts about his huge IQ only to then make posts demonstrating a somewhat lower figure and it is difficult not to take the bait.
It is more fun however to get involved in banter so that it is fun rather than being angry. The exchange the other day on disability parking bays was good fun and does demonstrate the excellent sense of humour some posters have on here.
Pity, he did OK in my view and he won the confidence vote narrowly even if not by a big enough margin
It's a shame that a large minority of Tories in the Assembly cannot accept that there is a place for devo-scepticism. Hopefully a new leader will be as willing to court that part of the electorate as much, or more than RT Davies was.
If Welsh voters want to scrap the Senedd they will vote Reform, the Tories are better off being a distinct centre right pro Union and pro devolution party
I agree with you and certainly I do not want the Senedd scrapped, just the useless Labour government evicted from it
What value do you attach to the Senedd? What benefits do you think it brings?
If I were a Welsh Tory, I think my view would be to prefer to see devolution done away with. I can't see what benefits it would bring, nor any chance of a government I liked. But I am not a Welsh Tory so am almost certainly incompletely-informed. Interested in your views.
When it was voted on in the Senedd in 2020 the Conservatives were firmly in support, and Andrew RT Davies abstained. https://www.20splenty.org/w_faq04
IsWas he out of step with the New Generation?
The conservatives support 20mph zones just not the reverse of all 30mph to 20mph as done by Drakeford
The matter is largely resolved now with Welsh labour acceptance that it was poorly implemented and new rules have been agreed with some roads reverting to 30mph across Wales in the next few months
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I'm not sure I'd even have JJ in my top 10 angriest and sweariest people on here!
I think this might be coming from "blood up" exchanges on Ukraine.
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
On the other hand no one can come up with evidence that it came from bat-virus infected animals at the wet market. The report says none have ever been found.
I posted a paper the other day showing not only was covid found at wet market but also other coronaviruses showing an evolutionary chain towards covid. The lab leak is possible but not supported by the available evidence. The case epidemic clearly points to wet market being source of initial cases.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I'm not sure I'd even have JJ in my top 10 angriest and sweariest people on here!
Yes. Not sure why Nick Palmer felt the need to start bullying JosiasJessop on Leon's behalf. Perhaps it's something to do with the little member of the gang ingratiating himself with the leader of the gang.
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
I quite admire that. You’ll be the Menzies Campbell of Covid theorisers, still wearing the sock-suspenders of zoonosis into the Noughties and beyond
Pity, he did OK in my view and he won the confidence vote narrowly even if not by a big enough margin
It's a shame that a large minority of Tories in the Assembly cannot accept that there is a place for devo-scepticism. Hopefully a new leader will be as willing to court that part of the electorate as much, or more than RT Davies was.
If Welsh voters want to scrap the Senedd they will vote Reform, the Tories are better off being a distinct centre right pro Union and pro devolution party
I agree with you and certainly I do not want the Senedd scrapped, just the useless Labour government evicted from it
What value do you attach to the Senedd? What benefits do you think it brings?
If I were a Welsh Tory, I think my view would be to prefer to see devolution done away with. I can't see what benefits it would bring, nor any chance of a government I liked. But I am not a Welsh Tory so am almost certainly incompletely-informed. Interested in your views.
I am happy we have devolution but it needs labour to lose and hopefully a coalition of Plaid - Reform - Conservatives- Lib Dem - Independent to govern the country
Labour have been a disaster for the NHS snd Education as well as other issues
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers? If you pull a string taut, it's a straight line. If you attach a weight to a string, it's a vertical line. If yiu put a bubble in a glass tube, it's a horizontal line. If you hang a chain from two points, trace the points and turn it upside down, that's an arch. If you measure the diagonals of a four-sided shape and they are the same, it's a rectangle.
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression? You have to die of something. We cured most bacterial diseases, so you have to die of something else. We cured hunger (ish!) so now we have obesity.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I'm not sure I'd even have JJ in my top 10 angriest and sweariest people on here!
Yes. Not sure why Nick Palmer felt the need to start bullying JosiasJessop on Leon's behalf. Perhaps it's something to do with the little member of the gang ingratiating himself with the leader of the gang.
Jesus Christ there are no gangs and there is no bullying. NPXMP and I have possibly had more dust-ups than any other PBers on here
@JosiasJessop misconstrued and overreacted to a comment meant to amuse, and he does overreact quite a lot. That’s it
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
On the other hand no one can come up with evidence that it came from bat-virus infected animals at the wet market. The report says none have ever been found.
I posted a paper the other day showing not only was covid found at wet market but also other coronaviruses showing an evolutionary chain towards covid. The lab leak is possible but not supported by the available evidence. The case epidemic clearly points to wet market being source of initial cases.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
Errr: because there aren't very many Southern Hemisphere city pairs where it would make sense?
I mean, you would fly over Antarctica to fly from Sydney to Rio. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights.
Great circle routes….
There are lots more cities in the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern. It is therefore much more likely that there are Great Circle routes in the North, than the South.
The population of the southern hemisphere living above 40° latitude (so closer to the pole than Naples) is around 4 million, about 3/8 each in NZ and Argentina and about 1/8 each in Chile and Tasmania.
That is quite staggering when you think about it.
Almost 4 billion people live north of 40 degrees latitude - including essentially all of Europe, most of Asia, and large chunks of North America.
Just 4 million (one thousandth of that), live a similar distance from the pole in the South.
At a rough look at my globe, I think it's nearer 1 billion, just Beijing and the north of China (1-200 mill), most of old Soviet Union (200 mill plus), the majority of Europe plus a bit of Turkey (3-400 mill-ish), NY, New England, the Great Lakes and north plus Canada (up to 200 mill-ish).
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
26: Water, fire, air and dirt / Fucking magnets, how do they work? / And I don't wanna talk to a scientist / Y'all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed.
PB Poster 1: I think that in Aberafan Maesteg Kinnock is going to struggle to hold on to his majority. PB Poster 2: You say that but he has been touring the constituency a lot and the odds of him increasing the majority are 4s on betfair. PB Poster 1: But my uncle who lives there says no one sees him and there are lots of LibDem posters up in windows, they're aiming for 5% of the vote next time. PB Poster 3: That's because they are coming from a low base and have identified Aberafan Maesteg as a key target. Leon: The little umbrella in my Cosmopolitan is the same shape as Chichén-Itzá. You can draw your own conclusions.
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
The Congressional Committee behind this report has a majority of Republicans and includes such great minds as Marjorie Taylor "Jewish space lasers" Greene. It's a bunch of people so completely divorced from reality that they insist Trump won the 2020 election and the popular vote in 2016. It is pure MAGA conspiracy theory propaganda. It has nothing to do with evidence. Four out of five claims in their executive summary are just completely wrong, the exact opposite of the truth. The actual evidence points ever more strongly towards the wet market, but the Committee decided what answer it wanted to reach years ago.
And the sad thing is we have 4 years of this coming. 4 years of a Republican administration completely uninterested in truth, just saying whatever is politically expedient in the moment. COVID-19 came from a lab. January 6 was a peaceful protest. Illegal immigrants are eating cats. Climate change isn't real. Trump has never committed any crimes.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I never used to swear on here; I'd always do the ****ing type thing. But I'm getting too old for that sort of nonsense now. It's pleasing that you think I make the angriest posts, as it means I'm beating dear Malc.
I often respond to posts without insulting the poster; in fact, the vast, vast majority of my posts contain no swearing or insults, so I think you are somewhat exaggerating. Also, whenever you see a smiley (which someone once complained I did too much of), then you can take it I am meaning what I wrote to be not altogether serious, or at least in a light-hearted manner. But Leon is not exactly hesitant to throw around insults either.
And I'm not 'permanently furious'; slightly fed up atm due to illness, but I'm generally a jovial chap. Witness all the smileys. I'm generally content with life, but like most people, have some things I care about - perhaps too much at times.
But I'll try to keep your advice in mind, and do it less in future, you *****ing **** ***** ***** *** of a ****'s **** **** &*!ey ****'s ****.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I'm not sure I'd even have JJ in my top 10 angriest and sweariest people on here!
Yes. Not sure why Nick Palmer felt the need to start bullying JosiasJessop on Leon's behalf. Perhaps it's something to do with the little member of the gang ingratiating himself with the leader of the gang.
Jesus Christ there are no gangs and there is no bullying. NPXMP and I have possibly had more dust-ups than any other PBers on here
@JosiasJessop misconstrued and overreacted to a comment meant to amuse, and he does overreact quite a lot. That’s it
Since it was indistinguishable from your regular posts, are they all meant to amuse and not inform?
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
Errr: because there aren't very many Southern Hemisphere city pairs where it would make sense?
I mean, you would fly over Antarctica to fly from Sydney to Rio. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights.
Great circle routes….
There are lots more cities in the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern. It is therefore much more likely that there are Great Circle routes in the North, than the South.
The population of the southern hemisphere living above 40° latitude (so closer to the pole than Naples) is around 4 million, about 3/8 each in NZ and Argentina and about 1/8 each in Chile and Tasmania.
That is quite staggering when you think about it.
Almost 4 billion people live north of 40 degrees latitude - including essentially all of Europe, most of Asia, and large chunks of North America.
Just 4 million (one thousandth of that), live a similar distance from the pole in the South.
At a rough look at my globe, I think it's nearer 1 billion, just Beijing and the north of China (1-200 mill), most of old Soviet Union (200 mill plus), the majority of Europe plus a bit of Turkey (3-400 mill-ish), NY, New England, the Great Lakes and north plus Canada (up to 200 mill-ish).
But still around 250:1 ISH.
OK. I got my number from ChatGPT (and therefore you can draw your own conclusions). This was its working:
Key Considerations Northern Hemisphere: Most of the Earth's landmass and population lie north of the equator.
Population Distribution: Europe is entirely north of 40°N (including densely populated regions like Germany, France, and the UK). Most of Asia's population lives north of 40°N (including parts of China, Japan, and South Korea, and Russia).
The United States and Canada contribute significantly, especially in urban centers. Parts of northern Africa (e.g., Morocco and Algeria) and some areas in the Middle East are just south of 40°N.
Estimation Total World Population: ~8 billion (2024 estimate).
Population North of 40°N: Europe: ~750 million.
Asia (north of 40°N): ~2.5 billion (including parts of China, Russia, Japan, and others). North America: ~400 million (most of the U.S. and Canada). Other regions: ~50 million (northern Africa, Middle East, etc.). Approximation Around 3.7–4 billion people live north of Naples, Italy (40°N), representing roughly 45–50% of the global population.
When it was voted on in the Senedd in 2020 the Conservatives were firmly in support, and Andrew RT Davies abstained. https://www.20splenty.org/w_faq04
IsWas he out of step with the New Generation?
The conservatives support 20mph zones just not the reverse of all 30mph to 20mph as done by Drakeford
The matter is largely resolved now with Welsh labour acceptance that it was poorly implemented and new rules have been agreed with some roads reverting to 30mph across Wales in the next few months
Do you have an impression yet of how extensive reversions will be?
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I'm not sure I'd even have JJ in my top 10 angriest and sweariest people on here!
I think this might be coming from "blood up" exchanges on Ukraine.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I'm not sure I'd even have JJ in my top 10 angriest and sweariest people on here!
Yes. Not sure why Nick Palmer felt the need to start bullying JosiasJessop on Leon's behalf. Perhaps it's something to do with the little member of the gang ingratiating himself with the leader of the gang.
I don't consider NP was 'bullying' me, and he's welcome to his opinion, the ***** *****y ****** that he is.
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
I quite admire that. You’ll be the Menzies Campbell of Covid theorisers, still wearing the sock-suspenders of zoonosis into the Noughties and beyond
Remember that assessing probabilities is one of the few things I'm genuinely gifted at. I'd swap it for cooking or languages if I could but you have to go with what you've got.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
Errr: because there aren't very many Southern Hemisphere city pairs where it would make sense?
I mean, you would fly over Antarctica to fly from Sydney to Rio. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights.
Great circle routes….
There are lots more cities in the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern. It is therefore much more likely that there are Great Circle routes in the North, than the South.
The population of the southern hemisphere living above 40° latitude (so closer to the pole than Naples) is around 4 million, about 3/8 each in NZ and Argentina and about 1/8 each in Chile and Tasmania.
That is quite staggering when you think about it.
Almost 4 billion people live north of 40 degrees latitude - including essentially all of Europe, most of Asia, and large chunks of North America.
Just 4 million (one thousandth of that), live a similar distance from the pole in the South.
At a rough look at my globe, I think it's nearer 1 billion, just Beijing and the north of China (1-200 mill), most of old Soviet Union (200 mill plus), the majority of Europe plus a bit of Turkey (3-400 mill-ish), NY, New England, the Great Lakes and north plus Canada (up to 200 mill-ish).
But still around 250:1 ISH.
OK. I got my number from ChatGPT (and therefore you can draw your own conclusions). This was its working:
Key Considerations Northern Hemisphere: Most of the Earth's landmass and population lie north of the equator.
Population Distribution: Europe is entirely north of 40°N (including densely populated regions like Germany, France, and the UK). Most of Asia's population lives north of 40°N (including parts of China, Japan, and South Korea, and Russia).
The United States and Canada contribute significantly, especially in urban centers. Parts of northern Africa (e.g., Morocco and Algeria) and some areas in the Middle East are just south of 40°N.
Estimation Total World Population: ~8 billion (2024 estimate).
Population North of 40°N: Europe: ~750 million.
Asia (north of 40°N): ~2.5 billion (including parts of China, Russia, Japan, and others). North America: ~400 million (most of the U.S. and Canada). Other regions: ~50 million (northern Africa, Middle East, etc.). Approximation Around 3.7–4 billion people live north of Naples, Italy (40°N), representing roughly 45–50% of the global population.
Most of the US is probably a stretch - Naples is about the same latitude as Washington DC, so you do get the North East, the Midwest, Seattle, etc.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I'm not sure I'd even have JJ in my top 10 angriest and sweariest people on here!
Yes. Not sure why Nick Palmer felt the need to start bullying JosiasJessop on Leon's behalf. Perhaps it's something to do with the little member of the gang ingratiating himself with the leader of the gang.
Jesus Christ there are no gangs and there is no bullying. NPXMP and I have possibly had more dust-ups than any other PBers on here
@JosiasJessop misconstrued and overreacted to a comment meant to amuse, and he does overreact quite a lot. That’s it
PB Poster 1: I think that in Aberafan Maesteg Kinnock is going to struggle to hold on to his majority. PB Poster 2: You say that but he has been touring the constituency a lot and the odds of him increasing the majority are 4s on betfair. PB Poster 1: But my uncle who lives there says no one sees him and there are lots of LibDem posters up in windows, they're aiming for 5% of the vote next time. PB Poster 3: That's because they are coming from a low base and have identified Aberafan Maesteg as a key target. Leon: The little umbrella in my Cosmopolitan is the same shape as Chichén-Itzá. You can draw your own conclusions.
But tbf to Leon the little u. is the same shape as a coal mine spoil heap. Ditto.
Watching Starmer turn on the Christmas lights at No 10 as if he was opening an archive of medieval charters with an audience of retired bishops sort of reminds you of how Boris did that sort of thing.
Good to see Mrs Starmer there too. Pity though that while the PM mentioned families and communities coming together for Christmas the atheist First Lord did not mention Jesus Christ once
Mrs Starmer? Starmer's mother? Thought she was dead!
Or do you mean LADY Starmer, wife of Sir Keir?
If you insist
Common courtesy, surely.
I don't like titles if hereditary but this was earned.
By marrying a senior lawyer and politician I suppose
Her husbands title was earned and the wife of a knight is traditionally described as 'Lady'. I thought that, as a traditionalist, you would have accepted that!
Whole Lord and Lady thing is absolute bullshit. They should all be sent to Rwanda.
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
I quite admire that. You’ll be the Menzies Campbell of Covid theorisers, still wearing the sock-suspenders of zoonosis into the Noughties and beyond
Remember that assessing probabilities is one of the few things I'm genuinely gifted at. I'd swap it for cooking or languages if I could but you have to go with what you've got.
Assessing probabilities and likely outcomes of US elections. Don't be overly modest.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
26: Water, fire, air and dirt / Fucking magnets, how do they work? / And I don't wanna talk to a scientist / Y'all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed.
I hope that at least one person on here recognized the quote.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
On the other hand no one can come up with evidence that it came from bat-virus infected animals at the wet market. The report says none have ever been found.
I posted a paper the other day showing not only was covid found at wet market but also other coronaviruses showing an evolutionary chain towards covid. The lab leak is possible but not supported by the available evidence. The case epidemic clearly points to wet market being source of initial cases.
One of the authors of that paper is the notorious Kristian Andersen. He co-wrote the now debunked Nature paper “Proximal Origins” in early 2020, which completely dismissed a lab origin for Covid - because he was asked to do this by Fauci et al. They wanted to squash the lab leak hypothesis. All this is now incontestable. Public record
Days before he co-wrote Proximal Origins Andersen wrote to another virologist in an email (later forcibly made public) that Lab leak is just “so friggin’ likely because they were already doing this type of work and the molecular data is fully consistent with that scenario.”
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
The Congressional Committee behind this report has a majority of Republicans and includes such great minds as Marjorie Taylor "Jewish space lasers" Greene. It's a bunch of people so completely divorced from reality that they insist Trump won the 2020 election and the popular vote in 2016. It is pure MAGA conspiracy theory propaganda. It has nothing to do with evidence. Four out of five claims in their executive summary are just completely wrong, the exact opposite of the truth. The actual evidence points ever more strongly towards the wet market, but the Committee decided what answer it wanted to reach years ago.
And the sad thing is we have 4 years of this coming. 4 years of a Republican administration completely uninterested in truth, just saying whatever is politically expedient in the moment. COVID-19 came from a lab. January 6 was a peaceful protest. Illegal immigrants are eating cats. Climate change isn't real. Trump has never committed any crimes.
“And I, Joe Biden, will never pardon my son. No one is above the law”
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Or, why do people who used to work for government or other big institutions nearly always incline to cock-up rather than conspiracy as an explanation?
Because they see cockups caused by laziness and inattention everyday in their work, but rarely see actual conspiracies?
Well that, but also when looking at the degree of logistics and co-ordination required to operate a major conspiracy, say faked moon landings, it is totally implausible. A government that cannot control leaks from its own cabinet is simply incapable of that sort of sophisticated secret operation.
Here's the first part of the 15 hour debate between Peter Miller (zoonosis) and Rootclaim (lab leak) on the origins of COVID-19, if you want to get into details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1vaooTKHCM
Miller won the $100,000 prize. He does a great job of demonstrating the flaws in the lab leak theory, including multiple points claimed by this new Congressional report. If you want the short(er) version, read the summary at https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/practically-a-book-review-rootclaim
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
26: Water, fire, air and dirt / Fucking magnets, how do they work? / And I don't wanna talk to a scientist / Y'all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed.
I hope that at least one person on here recognized the quote.
Does anyone know you repair these massive bundles of fibre-optic cables?
I don't know, but my friend who crashed out of school with a few Standard Grades makes a fortune doing so. Floats around on a big ship, ROVs, divers, the full works. Highly lucrative because there is intense competition between renewables, O&G and telecoms.
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
I quite admire that. You’ll be the Menzies Campbell of Covid theorisers, still wearing the sock-suspenders of zoonosis into the Noughties and beyond
Remember that assessing probabilities is one of the few things I'm genuinely gifted at. I'd swap it for cooking or languages if I could but you have to go with what you've got.
Assessing probabilities and likely outcomes of US elections. Don't be overly modest.
Well I was due a miss. It'd been years.
What did you make of Tyson v Paul btw? Don't recall seeing you comment after the event.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
26: Water, fire, air and dirt / Fucking magnets, how do they work? / And I don't wanna talk to a scientist / Y'all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed.
I hope that at least one person on here recognized the quote.
Here's the first part of the 15 hour debate between Peter Miller (zoonosis) and Rootclaim (lab leak) on the origins of COVID-19, if you want to get into details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1vaooTKHCM
Miller won the $100,000 prize. He does a great job of demonstrating the flaws in the lab leak theory, including multiple points claimed by this new Congressional report. If you want the short(er) version, read the summary at https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/practically-a-book-review-rootclaim
Why do you think Tim Spector, the official government advisor on the pandemic, now believes it came from the lab? And why does he also believe there was an obvious cover-up?
“Lab leak most likely source of Covid, says Prof Tim Spector
Downing Street adviser behind virus symptom tracker points to ‘obvious cover-up’”
“An adviser to Downing Street during the pandemic, Prof Spector added: “That seems to be the most likely scientific answer for what went on that explains both the epidemiology, and the timing.
“Also, the trail of shredded documents and email exchange between the US and China at the time. And also there was a very obvious cover-up very early on by various governments saying we have to get a report out there saying this is all down to bats so people aren’t going to blame labs and scientists to keep that credibility going.
“So that’s my personal view and there are views on all sides of this.
“I don’t think the idea that someone built a virus from scratch would be very easy to do. So I think it’s more likely that was a mistake rather than anything deliberate, but I think these were people working with hazardous viruses that got out of control rather than it being a plot.””
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
I never used to swear on here; I'd always do the ****ing type thing. But I'm getting too old for that sort of nonsense now. It's pleasing that you think I make the angriest posts, as it means I'm beating dear Malc.
I often respond to posts without insulting the poster; in fact, the vast, vast majority of my posts contain no swearing or insults, so I think you are somewhat exaggerating. Also, whenever you see a smiley (which someone once complained I did too much of), then you can take it I am meaning what I wrote to be not altogether serious, or at least in a light-hearted manner. But Leon is not exactly hesitant to throw around insults either.
And I'm not 'permanently furious'; slightly fed up atm due to illness, but I'm generally a jovial chap. Witness all the smileys. I'm generally content with life, but like most people, have some things I care about - perhaps too much at times.
But I'll try to keep your advice in mind, and do it less in future, you *****ing **** ***** ***** *** of a ****'s **** **** &*!ey ****'s ****.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
I quite admire that. You’ll be the Menzies Campbell of Covid theorisers, still wearing the sock-suspenders of zoonosis into the Noughties and beyond
Remember that assessing probabilities is one of the few things I'm genuinely gifted at. I'd swap it for cooking or languages if I could but you have to go with what you've got.
Assessing probabilities and likely outcomes of US elections. Don't be overly modest.
Well I was due a miss. It'd been years.
What did you make of Tyson v Paul btw? Don't recall seeing you comment after the event.
I commented several times on it after it.
None of them before or after said: "Assessing fight outcomes is one of the few things I'm genuinely gifted at."
As an aside, the article by @Andy_Cooke is an excellent one, and is not - I believe - a million miles different from how London expanded in the 1920s and 1930s.
Done right, it could (a) increase the pace of housebuilding, and (b) lower council tax bills as the council would directly benefit from land appreciation.
Not only that, but it would properly encourage competition amongst housebuilders.
The only issue is that it effectively moves the responsibility to purchase land for development to councils and councillors. Which is good in that it's democratic. But is bad in that it results in lots of opportunity for NIMBYs to get elected.
Are Macron and Starmer discussing sending an Anglo-French peacekeeping force to Ukraine to enforce an agreement in the new year ? This seems to be the word in a few outlets.
(CNN) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in an unannounced late-night TV address, accusing the country’s main opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and anti-state activities.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements… I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation.
"Four years after the onset of the worst pandemic in 100 years, the weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis. Since the Select Subcommittee commenced its work in February 2023, more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident."
The problem is that we - as humans - like certainty.
And the issue here is that it all the evidence here is entirely circumstantial. And almost entirely comes down to one thing:
Covid (a bat virus) originated in the same city as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was possibly the leading place for studying bat viruses in the world).
All that has happened in the intervening four and a half years is that more and more people have come to think "hmmmm... seems like an awfully big coincidence." Hence the phrase "more and more senior intelligence officials, politicians, science editors, and scientists increasingly have endorsed the hypothesis that COVID-191 emerged as the result of a laboratory or research related accident".
I.e., there's no actual new evidence. There are merely more and more people who've said "we looked at what little evidence there is, and statistically, it's highly likely that the WIV was responsible".
This really really really isn’t true. Tons more evidence, some scientific, some circumstantial, has emerged in the last four years - all favouring lab leak
Mountains of it
Eg all the emails slowly released under FOIA in the last four years showing that the scientists around fauci themselves thought lab leak was very probable even as they argued otherwise in public - these are still emerging
Also Ecohealth and Daszak had made plans and requests to do the exact engineering on the virus that we see in Covid-19. That was another discovery
There is much else like this. Your comment surprises me
Isn't this a bit like all those people who try to establish the identity of Jack the Ripper though? You can make more or less credible guesses but at the end of the day there isn't enough actual evidence to prove them one way or the other.
Yes. And the Lab Leak theory has now become trendy. It won't be long before the free-thinking mavericks start saying that the Wet Market is the way to go.
I'm a wet market man. Always have been, always will be.
I quite admire that. You’ll be the Menzies Campbell of Covid theorisers, still wearing the sock-suspenders of zoonosis into the Noughties and beyond
Remember that assessing probabilities is one of the few things I'm genuinely gifted at. I'd swap it for cooking or languages if I could but you have to go with what you've got.
Assessing probabilities and likely outcomes of US elections. Don't be overly modest.
Well I was due a miss. It'd been years.
What did you make of Tyson v Paul btw? Don't recall seeing you comment after the event.
I commented several times on it after it.
None of them before or after said: "Assessing fight outcomes is one of the few things I'm genuinely gifted at."
So, you know, there is that.
Oh did you get it wrong or something?
Well you can still call yourself a boxing expert (lol) even if you did because it wasn't really boxing, was it? Travesty of the noble art.
Are Macron and Starmer discussing sending an Anglo-French peacekeeping force to Ukraine to enforce an agreement in the new year ? This seems to be the word in a few outlets.
This assumes that Macron remains in the Elysee.
There does appear to be a suggestion if the political crisis continues he might go. As someone not particularly well versed in French constitutional law, I don’t really see what that would achieve if you still cant have another National Assembly election until July (that’s a stupid law just like the former FTPA in our country).
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
Just found this on TwiX. I don’t generally approve of random cutting and pasting, but this feels so acute and perceptive I’ll break my rule. It’s a simple list of simple questions, and yet it gets right to the heart
“Questions To Ask Ourselves:
1. What is an Egyptian pyramid doing on a US dollar bill?
2. Why did 56 countries sign a treaty not to take risks and enter Antarctica?
3. Why do planes never fly over Antarctica?
4. How did NASA "lose" the photos of the moon landing, one of the most important moments for humanity?
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
7. If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?
8. Why does 95% of our DNA exist as "junk"? Who decided it was actually "garbage"?
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
10. How is it that similar pre-Columbian architecture is found all over the world?
11. Why are there images in ancient Egyptian art that resemble "spaceships"?
12. Why were remains and images of giant people found? And why do different ancient scriptures from various cultures, including the Bible, talk about giants?
13. Why are there images of mushrooms in ancient Christian art? And why does the Pope dress up like a giant Amanita muscaria mushroom?
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
15. Why are there descriptions of dragons all over the world and in different cultures, thousands of years apart, and also mentioned in the Bible?
16. Why is there so much blatant satanic symbolism in the music and entertainment industry?
17. Why do most video games revolve around killing?
18. How is it possible that movies and cartoons like The Simpsons can predict certain cultural events so accurately?
19. How do forest fires melt cars but leave trees intact?
20. What is the national debt? If there is a borrower, there must also be a lender: who is it?
21. How is it that the so-called "national debt" has increased despite tax increases? Where does the taxpayer's money go?
22. Why is alcohol and tobacco poisoning considered "normal" and referred to simply as "drinking" and "smoking"?
23. Why are alcohol and tobacco shown in almost all shows and movies?
24. How do news presenters around the world and on various channels say and repeat the same script word for word?
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
Feel free to contribute any additional questions you may have.”
How about, "why are conspiracy theorists nearly always nutjobs with poor levels of understanding and general education?"
Leon's list of questions are really stupid. I mean, really, really stupid. You would have to be a really low-IQ individual to even propagate that list of shite.
To take an example: number 5, which is an old favourite of the Moon landing hoaxers. The camera that caught him descending the ladder was in an instrument module called MESA, which was attached to the lander.
"Positioning the camera in the MESA made it possible to telecast the astronauts' first steps as they climbed down the LM's ladder at the start of a mission's first moonwalk/EVA. Afterwards, the camera would be detached from its mount in the MESA, mounted on a tripod and carried away from the LM to show the EVA's progress... "
More interesting: how come there are only one or two still photos of Armstrong on the lunar surface? eh? eh? (The answer is simple; he was the one holding the camera most of the time.)
And for number 3: because there are not that many useful routes over Antarctica (unlike the Arctic...), and emergency diversions are somewhat more difficult. And AIUI, any commercial planes that do fly relatively near the south pole require special survival equipment on board. Because of the ack of diversion airfields. Oh, and the Illuminati monsters that live there.
You can really do better than the steaming pile of shite you listed...
I've no special brief for Leon, who likes to provoke us, and think your replies are useful. But I do wonder why your posts so often stand out as the sweariest, angriest posts for anyone on PB, to the point that I hesitate to post anything that might provoke you. Have you considered responding to posts without insulting the poster and giving the impression that you're almost permanently furious?
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
I think they should digitally remove Wallace from remaining episodes of Masterchef: The Professionals, and digitally replace him with a figure more in keeping with modern mores, like William Bodie from The Professionals.
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
I think they should digitally remove Wallace from remaining episodes of Masterchef: The Professionals, and digitally replace him with a figure more in keeping with modern mores, like William Bodies from The Professionals.
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
I think they should digitally remove Wallace from remaining episodes of Masterchef: The Professionals, and digitally replace him with a figure more in keeping with modern mores, like William Bodies from The Professionals.
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
And seemingly the Masterchef announcement is the more important story for BBC News and Sky News.
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
And seemingly the Masterchef announcement is the more important story for BBC News and Sky News.
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
I think they should digitally remove Wallace from remaining episodes of Masterchef: The Professionals, and digitally replace him with a figure more in keeping with modern mores, like William Bodie from The Professionals.
I think they should digitally install a backbone into the management of the BBC
When it was voted on in the Senedd in 2020 the Conservatives were firmly in support, and Andrew RT Davies abstained. https://www.20splenty.org/w_faq04
IsWas he out of step with the New Generation?
The conservatives support 20mph zones just not the reverse of all 30mph to 20mph as done by Drakeford
The matter is largely resolved now with Welsh labour acceptance that it was poorly implemented and new rules have been agreed with some roads reverting to 30mph across Wales in the next few months
Do you have an impression yet of how extensive reversions will be?
Due anytime soon with Flintshire likely to be first with their announcements
Are Macron and Starmer discussing sending an Anglo-French peacekeeping force to Ukraine to enforce an agreement in the new year ? This seems to be the word in a few outlets.
This assumes that Macron remains in the Elysee.
There does appear to be a suggestion if the political crisis continues he might go. As someone not particularly well versed in French constitutional law, I don’t really see what that would achieve if you still cant have another National Assembly election until July (that’s a stupid law just like the former FTPA in our country).
It is difficult to see how moves to remove Le Pen from the equation would not result in Street Warfare on a scale which would exceed those of 1968. I am also at a loss to understand what would happen to those voters if she was not on the ballot lists. I know you take your own ballot paper into the booth in France. You could see millions of votes for her when the little envelopes are opened.
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
I think they should digitally remove Wallace from remaining episodes of Masterchef: The Professionals, and digitally replace him with a figure more in keeping with modern mores, like William Bodie from The Professionals.
As South Korea implements martial law the BBC announces that the Masterchef Christmas special will not be shown. I guess they both felt they had no choice.
I think they should digitally remove Wallace from remaining episodes of Masterchef: The Professionals, and digitally replace him with a figure more in keeping with modern mores, like William Bodies from The Professionals.
Comments
If WCon elect a new pro-devo leader (I predict Tom Giffard) then this will open the door for a Rainbow coalition at next Senedd election.
The demand for flights from Australia to Argentina is low
5. If Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, who held the camera?
The camera was attached to the lower stage of the Lunar Module
6. Why haven't we gone back to the moon?
We are going back to the moon
https://www.spacex.com/humanspaceflight/moon/
https://www.independent.co.uk/space/china-moon-mission-lunar-space-station-planets-b2629977.html
9. How were huge, symmetrical, detailed, sacred, and geometrically regular structures such as cathedrals and parliamentary buildings created by people who lived in log cabins, rode horse-drawn carriages, and had no machines or lasers?
If you pull a string taut, it's a straight line. If you attach a weight to a string, it's a vertical line. If yiu put a bubble in a glass tube, it's a horizontal line. If you hang a chain from two points, trace the points and turn it upside down, that's an arch. If you measure the diagonals of a four-sided shape and they are the same, it's a rectangle.
25. If we are more progressive and informed than ever before, why do we have the highest rates of obesity, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention depression?
You have to die of something. We cured most bacterial diseases, so you have to die of something else. We cured hunger (ish!) so now we have obesity.
1 - He wants to be a writerly version of Harold Lloyd:
https://youtu.be/zqzWurPE01Y?t=206
(The whole segment is worth a watch)
2 - If amused, pay attention.
3 - If wound up, don't.
As any fule kno, it's front to back reversal.
Almost 4 billion people live north of 40 degrees latitude - including essentially all of Europe, most of Asia, and large chunks of North America.
Just 4 million (one thousandth of that), live a similar distance from the pole in the South.
I see you blatantly ignore the most piercing question of all:
14. Why do ancient Egyptian artworks show jaws, and is it a coincidence that the pineal gland resembles jaws?
Why? Why ignore THAT one? You don’t have an answer, do you??
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24768466.elon-musks-x-pay-legal-costs-george-galloway-defamation-row/?ref=ebbn&nid=1457&u=f140ec39d500193051a33e140c12bd95&date=031224
In fact about the only things they have in common are poor political judgement and approval ratings in the toilet.
Leon does post utter nonsense most of the time and sometimes it is difficult to tell if he is serious or just trying to have fun. The IQ comment is deserved because he often posts about his huge IQ only to then make posts demonstrating a somewhat lower figure and it is difficult not to take the bait.
It is more fun however to get involved in banter so that it is fun rather than being angry. The exchange the other day on disability parking bays was good fun and does demonstrate the excellent sense of humour some posters have on here.
If I were a Welsh Tory, I think my view would be to prefer to see devolution done away with. I can't see what benefits it would bring, nor any chance of a government I liked. But I am not a Welsh Tory so am almost certainly incompletely-informed. Interested in your views.
The matter is largely resolved now with Welsh labour acceptance that it was poorly implemented and new rules have been agreed with some roads reverting to 30mph across Wales in the next few months
Labour have been a disaster for the NHS snd Education as well as other issues
@JosiasJessop misconstrued and overreacted to a comment meant to amuse, and he does overreact quite a lot. That’s it
Found it
But still around 250:1 ISH.
PB Poster 1: I think that in Aberafan Maesteg Kinnock is going to struggle to hold on to his majority.
PB Poster 2: You say that but he has been touring the constituency a lot and the odds of him increasing the majority are 4s on betfair.
PB Poster 1: But my uncle who lives there says no one sees him and there are lots of LibDem posters up in windows, they're aiming for 5% of the vote next time.
PB Poster 3: That's because they are coming from a low base and have identified Aberafan Maesteg as a key target.
Leon: The little umbrella in my Cosmopolitan is the same shape as Chichén-Itzá. You can draw your own conclusions.
And the sad thing is we have 4 years of this coming. 4 years of a Republican administration completely uninterested in truth, just saying whatever is politically expedient in the moment. COVID-19 came from a lab. January 6 was a peaceful protest. Illegal immigrants are eating cats. Climate change isn't real. Trump has never committed any crimes.
I often respond to posts without insulting the poster; in fact, the vast, vast majority of my posts contain no swearing or insults, so I think you are somewhat exaggerating. Also, whenever you see a smiley (which someone once complained I did too much of), then you can take it I am meaning what I wrote to be not altogether serious, or at least in a light-hearted manner. But Leon is not exactly hesitant to throw around insults either.
And I'm not 'permanently furious'; slightly fed up atm due to illness, but I'm generally a jovial chap. Witness all the smileys. I'm generally content with life, but like most people, have some things I care about - perhaps too much at times.
But I'll try to keep your advice in mind, and do it less in future, you *****ing **** ***** ***** *** of a ****'s **** **** &*!ey ****'s ****.
Key Considerations
Northern Hemisphere: Most of the Earth's landmass and population lie north of the equator.
Population Distribution:
Europe is entirely north of 40°N (including densely populated regions like Germany, France, and the UK).
Most of Asia's population lives north of 40°N (including parts of China, Japan, and South Korea, and Russia).
The United States and Canada contribute significantly, especially in urban centers.
Parts of northern Africa (e.g., Morocco and Algeria) and some areas in the Middle East are just south of 40°N.
Estimation
Total World Population: ~8 billion (2024 estimate).
Population North of 40°N:
Europe: ~750 million.
Asia (north of 40°N): ~2.5 billion (including parts of China, Russia, Japan, and others).
North America: ~400 million (most of the U.S. and Canada).
Other regions: ~50 million (northern Africa, Middle East, etc.).
Approximation
Around 3.7–4 billion people live north of Naples, Italy (40°N), representing roughly 45–50% of the global population.
(great lovely legend, if anyone's worried...)
But you don't get Florida, California or Texas.
Days before he co-wrote Proximal Origins Andersen wrote to another virologist in an email (later forcibly made public) that Lab leak is just “so friggin’ likely because they were already doing this type of work and the molecular data is fully consistent with that scenario.”
https://www.heritage.org/public-health/commentary/the-lie-the-century-the-origin-covid-19
Indeed in private emails for months afterward Andersen admitted lab leak was highly plausible
Miller won the $100,000 prize. He does a great job of demonstrating the flaws in the lab leak theory, including multiple points claimed by this new Congressional report. If you want the short(er) version, read the summary at https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/practically-a-book-review-rootclaim
Sees yet another thread wrecked by a stream of bilge from our regular poster who doesn’t have both his oars in the water.
*Finds something better to do
What did you make of Tyson v Paul btw? Don't recall seeing you comment after the event.
What would that mean in South Korea?
https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20241203154500001?input=1195m
“Lab leak most likely source of Covid, says Prof Tim Spector
Downing Street adviser behind virus symptom tracker points to ‘obvious cover-up’”
“An adviser to Downing Street during the pandemic, Prof Spector added: “That seems to be the most likely scientific answer for what went on that explains both the epidemiology, and the timing.
“Also, the trail of shredded documents and email exchange between the US and China at the time. And also there was a very obvious cover-up very early on by various governments saying we have to get a report out there saying this is all down to bats so people aren’t going to blame labs and scientists to keep that credibility going.
“So that’s my personal view and there are views on all sides of this.
“I don’t think the idea that someone built a virus from scratch would be very easy to do. So I think it’s more likely that was a mistake rather than anything deliberate, but I think these were people working with hazardous viruses that got out of control rather than it being a plot.””
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/21/prof-tim-spector-covid-likely-to-have-come-from-a-lab-leak/
Is he a secret Trumpite? Did the MAGA cult get to him?
Let’s face it you’re wrong. You just can’t admit it. What we see now in you are the last twitches of a dying nerve
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/12/people-will-share-misinformation-that-sparks-moral-outrage/
None of them before or after said: "Assessing fight outcomes is one of the few things I'm genuinely gifted at."
So, you know, there is that.
Done right, it could (a) increase the pace of housebuilding, and (b) lower council tax bills as the council would directly benefit from land appreciation.
Not only that, but it would properly encourage competition amongst housebuilders.
The only issue is that it effectively moves the responsibility to purchase land for development to councils and councillors. Which is good in that it's democratic. But is bad in that it results in lots of opportunity for NIMBYs to get elected.
This seems to be the word in a few outlets.
(CNN)
—
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in an unannounced late-night TV address, accusing the country’s main opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and anti-state activities.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements… I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation.
Well you can still call yourself a boxing expert (lol) even if you did because it wasn't really boxing, was it? Travesty of the noble art.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cy89xevxp1jo
"These would ensure that any ethics complaints were overseen by the FIA president and president of its senate, rather than the senate itself."
There does appear to be a suggestion if the political crisis continues he might go. As someone not particularly well versed in French constitutional law, I don’t really see what that would achieve if you still cant have another National Assembly election until July (that’s a stupid law just like the former FTPA in our country).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Professionals_(TV_series)#Bodie
On the verge of being kicked off Rail UK Forums because I keep insisting the Docklands Light Rail (DLR) is NOT a tramway
I've had my wrist slapped a couple of times.
I can use it for the afternoon thread.
https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/24757056.20mph-flintshire-council-starts-process-reverting-roads-30/