Thursday, March 31, 2022

'Outnumbered' on Disney executives pushing woke agenda in leaked video | Fox News Video

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6302330252001?playlist_id=3482905335001#sp=show-clips&spark_wn=1

To support diversity, people previously took the position that movies and entertainment "should look like America."   No problem and I welcome this, but when I hear a Disney executive say that their characters have to be at least 50% LBGTQ or minorities, I think that it is discrimination against the majority who don't fit into these categories.  Disney can have whatever kinds of characters they want, but if entertainment is overtly pushing an agenda then it takes away from the entertainment because the agenda takes precedence over the storytelling.  It is a distraction.

I used to think that Star Trek Discovery is a pretty good show.  However, the most recent season was almost 100% female.  The few male characters are either the bad guys or gay.  This is not what I expect from a Star Trek show, which should be anti-discriminatory.  I don't have a problem with an all-female series, but when it is so obvious that they are pushing an agenda then it feels like we are being manipulated.  I find myself asking why doesn't the future have men in prominent roles?

A couple of years ago, one of the writers on Star Trek Discovery made the bold statement that every single character on the show is bisexual.  They haven't made this obvious, but how does this look like America?

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Ron Perlman on Twitter: "Dear ⁦@GovRonDeSantis⁩

https://twitter.com/perlmutations/status/1508826280929554441

Have you read the bill? I have. It says nothing for the sort. Nor did Ron Desantis.

Re: Second COVID-19 booster shot authorized for Americans 50 and older - NBC News

I may consult with my physician before I get the fourth dose.  I would like to know what the evidence is on the 4th shot?

I had the booster six months ago.  I am wondering what the ideal time frame would be for the fourth shot?

On Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 8:30 PM Albert wrote:
You can get your 4th shot now.

Second COVID-19 booster shot authorized for Americans 50 and older - NBC News


https://apple.news/AILkUQy3WQ-6spkICRlZNAQ

Monday, March 28, 2022

Fwd: Shanghai

From: John Coffey 

It seems unlikely that you could suppress Omicron.  Best to let it run its course.

I'm hoping that my booster from six months ago will still protect me, but if not, I would be willing to have another booster if the evidence supports it.

On Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 8:46 AM Larry wrote:
Shanghai a city of 26 million shuts down tunnels, bridges and highways in a covid lockdown to begin mass testing.
Oil dropped almost 3% in response.


Why Heat Pumps are Immensely Important Right Now

Friday, March 25, 2022

Fwd: Ice-T was robbed!

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Larry

I was robbed at a gas station in NJ last night. After my hands stopped trembling..I managed to call the cops and they were quick to respond and calmed me down..... My money is gone.. the police asked me if I knew who did it..I said yes.. it was pump number 9…


Covid booster restores vaccine protection lost against omicron variant, U.K. study finds

High chance of new COVID variant that's worse that Omicron in 2024, says UK CMO

European wave of Omicron sub-variant BA.2 foreshadows US surge | Financial Times

‘It’s about time’: Trump suing Hillary Clinton over Russiagate scandal

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Is This The End Of Capitalism? | Answers With Joe - YouTube

In response to...



I wrote...

The word capitalism is used as a pejorative. The correct term should be a free market, which is the freedom to own a business and run it with minimal interference from the government. The opposite of this is different degrees of tyranny. Do you want the government running your business, or taking it away from you?

Corporations are used as a whipping boys, but corporations are a way of democratizing business ownership. My retirement fund invests in the S&P500, meaning that I have some tiny ownership in 500 companies. People resent corporations because they are a concentration of power, and this could possibly be a threat to freedom, but without corporations, very few people could afford to invest in business ownership.

The socialist left keeps looking for excuses to give us a command and control economy. The most recent is a fear of automation, but history shows that automation leads to more prosperity, more jobs not less.

Milton Freidman said that the robber barons were mostly a myth.  People flocked to difficult factory jobs because that was better than the alternative.  Nobody forces you to give a corporation a dime.  Nobody forces you to work for an employer.  In a command and control economy, everything is done by coercion.  They will tell you what to buy, who to work for, what type of energy you can use, what kind of health care you are eligible for, and what you can say.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Re: Sergey Karjakin BANNED From Chess...

I support free speech.  I don't have to agree with Karjakin and he doesn't have to agree with me, because it has nothing to do with his ability to play chess.

On Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 10:13 PM Albert wrote:
I know banning Karjakin from playing in FIDE events is currently for 6 months. I don't like that he will be unable to play in the candidates tournament. Organizations who set up international events should not be involved with politics. After all, isn't this the 21st century?

On Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 9:00 PM John Coffey <john2001plus@gmail.com> wrote:
The first couple of games are really interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dieM4IDbJsQ


Tuesday, March 22, 2022

The Takeover of America's Legal System

When congressional Republicans attacked attorneys for representing Guantanamo detainees, for example, the entire profession rallied around them. The American Civil Liberties Union noted that John Adams took pride in representing British soldiers accused of taking part in the Boston Massacre, calling it "one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered to my country."

But that's not how the new associates saw Boies's choice to represent Weinstein. They thought there were certain people you just did not represent—people so hateful and reprehensible that helping them made you complicit. The partners, the old-timers—pretty much everyone over 50—found this unbelievable. That wasn't the law as they had known it. That wasn't America.

"The idea that guilty people shouldn't get lawyers attacks the legal system at its root," Andrew Koppelman, a prominent liberal scholar of constitutional law at Northwestern University, said. "People will ask: 'How can you represent someone who's guilty?' The answer is that a society where accused people don't get a defense as a matter of course is a society you don't want to live in. It's a totalitarian nightmare."

Friday, March 18, 2022

Fwd: Overwhelmed by Omicron, Hong Kong Runs Out of Space for Its Dead - The Wall Street Journal

FYI

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Albert 
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2022 at 1:31 PM

It's not over until it's over. We should be cautious about putting our guard down on covid. Mainstream news has been avoiding covid stories because the Russo-Ukraine War brings more viewers and clicks. Nevertheless, as you and I know, the covid story will continue long after the Russo-Ukraine War is over.

Overwhelmed by Omicron, Hong Kong Runs Out of Space for Its Dead - The Wall Street Journal

https://apple.news/A4yDI5zQhTHKEqEV1zU4dkw

--

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Re: Watch "Reddit Soldier of Fortune in Ukrainian Warns It's a Trap & You Will Die" on YouTube

Interesting video.  People shouldn't be sacrificial lambs to the whims of other people.

On Wed, Mar 16, 2022 at 4:19 AM Albert  wrote:
Watch this before volunteering to defend Ukraine physically or verbally. All's fair in love or war. Here's an example out of Ukraine.



Monday, March 14, 2022

Fwd: Watch "Biden’s 17 GREATEST Achievements So Far!" on YouTube

I mostly agree, but I don't want to spread COVID misinformation.  It is far from clear that COVID-19 was created in a lab or that Fauci was responsible.  The most recent evidence links COVID-19 to the wet market in Wuhan.

From what I have read, the relatively small grant to the Wuhan lab was for cataloging bat viruses.  What China did on top of that isn't necessarily Fauci's fault.  Maybe we shouldn't have been funding them at all, but the reasoning was to go where the bat viruses were.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Albert

This would be a lot funnier if it wasn't so true.



Re: Foxconn in China pausing for Covid

Early in the pandemic, I made the prediction that this pandemic was so significant that it could bring down a government.   Without it, I think that Trump might have been reelected.  Wouldn't it be ironic if we had regime change in China?

--
Best wishes,

John Coffey





Saturday, March 12, 2022

The Failed Logistics of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Fwd: Matt Walsh Comments

FYI

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John Coffey 

On Sat, Mar 12, 2022 at 5:17 AM Larry wrote:
I'm sure you and I would disagree with Matt on one or two of his comments, but interesting discussion none the less...


On Sat, Mar 12, 2022 John Coffey wrote:

Often I see things about which I feel a need to express myself.  This is kind of a trap because I put much care into my response.  If I'm going to write something, I feel a need to write as well as I can, which takes much time.

Thanks for sharing.

My first reaction is to think that Matt is being hypocritical because of scriptures where Jesus says to turn the other cheek and resist not evil.  Matt tells the viewer to read the scriptures, but in my opinion, the Bible can lead to many contradictory beliefs, with the Old Testament being one of the more evil books ever written.

Putting my opinion on the Bible aside, it is hardly justifiable to kill someone over an insult.  I'm sure that was not the intent, but I've seen videos where people have talked about how fighting can lead to unintentional death, so the advice is to not fight.  Do I think that it is justifiable to fight given sufficient provocation?  Yes, if I feel threatened, but there might be better ways to handle it.  Run away.  Contact someone in authority.



I feel the whole thing about the victim being a child predator adds emotional language to this.  This person was likely a scumbag, but may have been mentally ill and did not deserve to die.  There should be consequences to killing someone.  I'm sympathetic to the sentence but maybe it was too light.  It sends a message that there is less consequence to violence or manslaughter if a racial slur is involved, or if the person killed is a bad person.

I'm concerned about the deterioration of society.  I feel more need to protect myself.  Given the riots that we saw over the last two years, I could see a rioter attacking either me or my family over perceived injustice.  My grandfather was dragged from his car and beaten by rioters in the Detroit area.  I'm not sure of the date, but probably 1967.

--


Wednesday, March 9, 2022

The Pfizer documents. Adverse effects and death



Normally I have been a fan of Dr. John Campbell's videos, but here he takes a more anti-Pfizer vaccine position with a conspiracy theory tone.  I'm kind of disappointed because I took him to be a reliable source of information.

In response to his video, I wrote the following comment:

It is irresponsible to say that the 1,223 deaths were due to vaccination. Reportedly, anyone can submit an adverse event whether it was caused by the vaccine or not. Two out of every 100,000 vaccinated people got myocarditis, but 20 to 30% of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 developed heart problems.

The purpose of the adverse event reporting system is to determine if adverse events occur beyond what would be normal.    During the vaccine trial, 6 people died, mostly from cardiac events, and 4 of those deaths came from the placebo group.  https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-pfizer-health-concerns/fact-check-clarifying-claims-around-pfizer-vaccine-deaths-and-side-effects-idUSKBN28K2R6

However, let us take the 1,223 death number at face value for a moment.  From what I can tell, by the end of February 2021, 20% of American adults were vaccinated. That's around 51 million people, mostly older people from which we could expect some deaths regardless.  If 1,223 died from vaccination, then that is 1 out of 41,700.  However, the risk from COVID is greater with 1 out of 333 Americans dying from the disease.

It appeared as if my comment to the video was posted and then deleted within seconds.  I don't understand this unless some automatic filter is eliminating my comment.  I tried a couple of more times and got the same result.











Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Even Mild Cases of COVID Can Cause Brain Damage and Shrinkage

Those who had COVID-19 had significantly more brain tissue loss and shrinkage, the researchers found. People typically lose around 0.2-0.3% of gray matter each year with normal aging, and those who had COVID-19 were losing far more, up to 2%. They also lost more overall brain volume and had higher amounts of tissue damage.

The damage was equivalent to at least an extra year of aging, Gwenaëlle Douaud, an associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford and the paper's lead author, told NBC News.

"It is brain damage, but it is possible that it is reversible," she said. "But it is still relatively scary because it was in mildly infected people."

https://people.com/health/even-mild-cases-of-covid-can-cause-brain-damage-and-shrinkage-study-finds/

This is like the mother of all diseases.

Re: A troubling trend in lighting?

A couple of years ago my step-dad and I went to Lowes to get an outdoor light fixture.  The person who helped us tried to sell us a fixture that did not have a replaceable bulb, which means that when the fixture burns out you have to replace the entire fixture.   I chose to get one with a bulb socket instead, which has to be much easier in the long run.  Everybody knows how to replace a light bulb.

With my stepdad's help, it wasn't hard to install, which means that people should be capable of replacing their light fixtures.  The biggest problem was reaching it with a ladder.  However, how many people are going to accidentally electrocute themselves, start a fire, or fall off a ladder trying to replace the entire fixture?


On Mon, Mar 7, 2022 at 8:29 PM Al wrote:
Everything and more I wanted to know about LED lighting. Good video.

On Sun, Mar 6, 2022 at 10:21 PM John Coffey wrote:

Saturday, March 5, 2022

COVID Cases and Deaths

Whereas the new cases have dropped considerably, the number of active cases is still lingering, going from about 1 out of 11 people to roughly 1 out of 13. The daily death rate remains fairly high, but what I can tell is about half of the recent peak






Thursday, March 3, 2022

I had a ben shapiro/jordan peterson phase... and i'm glad i did

watched this rather silly video because the young lady seemed to have shifted from the far extreme left to the right, but then she shifted back at the end.  She makes some intelligent comments like she is a person who wants to think objectively about things, but she seems like someone who shifts her position based upon whatever group last influenced her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3r01BruBok

In response to this, I wrote ...

People's political perspective is often determined by their personality type.

The only thing that has brought people out of poverty is freedom and the free market. All the liberal policies in the world have been a complete failure. We have spent trillions of dollars in the United States and have not improved the lives of people. For the last ten thousand years, the average income remained at extreme poverty levels until freedom was tried, and then immense amounts of wealth were created.

Freedom occurs when you have voluntary transactions between people. Both parties benefit. Forcibly taking money from one person and giving it to someone else is not a voluntary transaction. It is the use of force against people. It is theft.

Government exists for the purpose of protecting people's rights. This is something we can't do on our own unless we want to have our own private army. Government shouldn't exist for the purpose of stealing from one person to give to another.

Pretty much all the issues that people scream and yell about is a smokescreen for socialism. The goal is to have more government control of our lives. Then they can justify any infringement of our freedom in the name of fairness or equity.

My Facebook post from 3 years ago.

I see a danger to the future existence of the human race, and it is the kind of thing that people should think about and prepare for now. Sometime in the next 50 years, machines will be smarter than people. There are major technical hurdles to overcome, such as the inevitable end of Moore's Law, which probably means that it is not right around the corner or even within the next couple of decades, but it will happen, and easily within this century. And if for some reason it does happen within the next couple of decades then that means the results will be upon us that much sooner.
We can predict what will happen next and follow it to its logical conclusion, which is a future without people.
As machines become smarter, people will become increasingly reliant on technology. We can see that already with smartphones, which only have been with us for barely over a decade. Eventually, machines will do all the heavy mental work, which will make our lives easier, but also make us more dependent.
And since we will be so dependent on the machines, we will start incorporating them into us. This will evolve over time until we are no longer purely human, but human-machine hybrids. Perhaps when your biological brain dies, the machine part of you will be able to continue with all your memories intact. Maybe it would have an artificial body or maybe it will exist in a virtual world. It is likely that some would prefer to live in a virtual world where they can do more things than they could in the real world. Taken to the eventual extreme, our descendants would no longer bother with biological bodies and prefer to exist as machine intelligences either in the real world or in virtual ones.
The evolutionary pressure will be against purely biological people. Having machines incorporated into you will make you more productive, competitive, and increase your quality of life.
The future I describe might be long distant, but if it is not the future we want for the human race then we should start thinking about it now. Maybe we could have a Pure Human movement that would prohibit the merging of machine intelligence with human intelligence? This could be roughly analogous to the current legal ban on human cloning, because we very likely have the technology right now to clone humans, but countries ban it because they are uneasy about the implications of where that might take us.
However, we might not be able to prevent it. Linking machines with human intelligence is likely to happen in such small steps that we will easily adjust to it. It is sort of happening already with our dependence on computers. It could also start as a series of military applications where having the most effective soldiers determines who wins the wars. And once the genie is out of the bottle, we will never get it back in.
Best wishes,
John Coffey

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Pfizer Vaccine Becomes DNA in Liver Cells. (In-vitro Swedish Study)




I'm sure that the anti-vaccine people will have a field day with this.  I think that it is helpful to have some perspective...

1.  This was an in vitro study testing liver cells outside the human body.

2.  The injections are not given to the liver.  It is thought that the injections stay in the muscles unless the injection hits a blood vessel, and this is thought by some to be responsible for the relatively rare cases of myocarditis.  Some have advocated that the procedure should be to aspirate the injection, which is to first pull back on the plunger to make sure it does not draw blood, so as to not accidentally inject into a blood vessel.

3.  The human body has around 37 trillion cells.  Viruses modify the DNA in our cells all the time.  The immune system finds these cells and destroys them.

4.  A change to the DNA of a few of our cells does not mean that our DNA is permanently altered.

5. The liver cells with the modified DNA exhibit the spike protein on their surface, which means that if this were to happen in the human body then these cells would be targeted by the immune system.

6.  Hypothetically, if some liver cells were to have their DNA altered and start producing extra spike proteins, then this would add to our immune response to the spike protein.


8.  The COVID-19 disease can have serious long-term side effects. 

9. Liver damage is one of the major symptoms of the COVID-19 disease, so pick your poison.   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8192279/

Related:


Best wishes,

John Coffey





Re: Russian Ukraine

This video is from 2015, but relevant.

John J. Mearsheimer is a Bernie Sanders supporter.  He even sounds a tiny bit like him.  I don't trust him to be objective.

He repeatedly quotes the Monroe Doctrine as a rationalization for his position.  In 2013, two years before this video, Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the Monroe Doctrine is dead.

I agree with him when he says that Ukraine is not in the National Interest of the United States.

He makes claims to the effect that Russia does not want to build a greater Russia and would not want to get involved in the quagmire of an invasion of Ukraine, which seem to be disproven by current events.

I assumed that Putin's security concerns were just an excuse for invasion, but this video gives some legitimacy to Putin's concern.  Nevertheless, Ukraine is an independent country that should be allowed to decide its own alliances.  If it wants to be part of Europe then it is not the right of Russia to block this.

Comparing Ukraine possibly joining NATO, which wasn't even on the table, to the Cuban Missile Crisis is to equivocate two things that are not the same.  It is a poor comparison.

Therefore, this invasion is an unjustified aggressive event.  It has caused a seismic shift in world politics.  Europe is rapidly trying to distance itself from Russia.  Germany has changed its position on where it gets its energy and is contemplating embracing Nuclear Energy again after having closed all its nuclear plants.

There is a possibility that Putin will get the opposite of everything he wants.  I have been predicting a coup in Russia, possibly a military coup followed by a temporary military government.  Reportedly, the Russian military is not happy with this invasion, nor is the public.

--

On Tue, Mar 1, 2022 at 12:44 AM Jefwrote:



"Nothing says Freedom like a 16-yr-old with a 400HP Mustang" - Jordan Pe...

https://youtube.com/shorts/HcQFnC7UtVE?feature=share


Best wishes,

John Coffey