Posts by slyfox43

It would be a beautiful thing if this signaled the end of Erdogan’s era, but history rarely shows a strongman stepping down simply because he wrecked the economy.

I fear Erdogan might be one of those leaders who stays in power indefinitely—or at least long enough to build a dynasty.

Simply pointing out how numbers can be manipulated isn't some paranoid conspiracy theory; it's just looking at the data.

I suspect we’ll see the UAE swoop in with a massive bailout soon, likely offering a better deal in exchange for increased "cooperation." It’s reminiscent of when Qatar stepped in last time.

Anthony Hill5 said:

ValterUdarnik As stated by:
What is the greatest fear of that Anglo-Saxon bloc? It is nothing less than the resurrection of a Slavic consciousness, for if such an awakening were to occur, it would signify our inevitable ascent to dominance across Europe.

And that is precisely why Russia stands as their greatest adversary.
She is the only one capable of striking back at them with full military force.
Is she really the only one with access to such bottomless, inexhaustible resources, just like the rest of them?

One really ought to be cognizant of the fact that the Pentagon has explicitly delineated its military doctrine to identify Russia as the primary threat, leaving China as a secondary concern.

One really ought to pause and ask themselves: why exactly is this happening? If China is supposedly the world's rising superpower, then how on earth do we explain this reality?

Do you really believe that the official statements made by high-ranking officials, including both former and sitting presidents, somehow align with your little theory? One has to wonder, if the very leaders of this nation aren't backing your claims, then what exactly makes you think you've stumbled upon some hidden truth?

McCain once famously remarked that Russia is nothing more than a glorified gas station masquerading as a sovereign nation. Is there any other way to describe it? It is a regime built entirely on the volatile whims of energy exports rather than actual institutional strength or innovation. How can a country claim any semblance of global leadership when its entire foundation rests on the sale of fossil fuels?

Is it not absolutely remarkable how Obama chooses to characterize Russia? He has gone so far as to dismiss them as nothing more than a "regional power," suggesting that their recent maneuvers are driven solely by an underlying sense of desperation and weakness. One has to wonder, does he truly believe such a reductionist view holds any weight in the current geopolitical landscape? Is he attempting to downplay the complexities of their actions, or is this merely a calculated attempt to project an image of American dominance while ignoring the strategic realities at play? It seems a rather shortsighted assessment, wouldn't you agree?

Biden Warns: The Russian Economy Consists of Nothing But Nuclear Weapons and Oil Wells

In the meantime, Erdogan persists in his relentless policy of confrontation against Western powers, seemingly determined to clash with every major global authority.

Is it not absolutely staggering that Erdogan is now threatening to pursue legal action against ten different ambassadors stationed in Turkey? How can such blatant intimidation be tolerated in modern diplomacy?

On Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a stern threat to expel ambassadors from ten different nations—including heavyweights like France, Germany, and the United States—following their calls for him to release Osman Kaval, an individual accused by his administration of opposing the regime. Does he really believe he can simply brush aside the diplomatic pressure from such powerful allies? According to reports from Beta citing AFP, this escalation marks a significant confrontation between the Turkish leadership and the international community.

"I told our Secretary of State that we simply cannot afford to be welcoming toward them when they arrive on our soil," Erdogan remarked, according to reports from Turkish media outlets. Is it not a profound indictment of our current diplomatic standing when even the basic courtesy of a welcome becomes a luxury we claim we can no longer sustain?

On Monday, a coalition of nations—including Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United States—issued a collective demand for what they termed a "fair and swift resolution" to the case of Osman Kaval. This Turkish publisher and philanthropist has languished in prison for four years now, all without ever having faced a trial. How much longer can such an injustice be permitted to stand?

"Do you really think you have any right to lecture Turkey?" Erdogan demanded, adding that the Turkish judiciary remains entirely independent.

Have we truly stumbled upon yet another supposed hero among our community's self-proclaimed "anti-imperialists"?

He’s certainly an impostor, though he tends to overcomplicate things; since he’s constantly surrounded by other local champions of anti-imperialism, his attempts to push those ideals beyond their usual boundaries inevitably run headfirst into theirs.

No, as long as there are small fish left that larger fish can collectively decide to swallow—operating under the logic that "if you won't enter my belly, there's plenty of room in someone else's, but you're getting eaten regardless"—they remain useful to one another.

The British don't seem particularly interested in reviving their old empire. The Turks, however, certainly are. And the French, too.

During World War II, about 97% of the population made it through, so it wasn't exactly a catastrophic event for the nation at large.

It’s all the same slow slide... grain by grain, you end up with a total collapse from social cohesion to complete isolation, especially after a pandemic. It's just how things go.

There is an interesting phenomenon when you walk through residential neighborhoods in a place like Washington, D.C.—though I suppose it’s much the same in most major American cities. The common areas, the building facades, the shared courtyards—they all look like neglected ghettos because nobody wants to sink money into them. I was explaining this to my wife, who was looking at it with a bit of dismay, noting that once you step inside, most of the individual apartments are actually beautifully maintained. It seems to me that this specific attitude toward the collective is quite common among Americans, and you can see the fallout in how people react to the very idea of looking out for their neighbors.

Of course, there are exceptions, and I'm sure they exist in plenty, though likely never enough.

People talk about it constantly, and I’ve noticed that posting nothing but praise seems to be a favorite pastime on this forum lately, so I figured some might actually start following their own advice. It would be a shame if all this talk about stomach bugs remained purely theoretical.

Of course, there will always be viruses going around—there always have been, and there always will be. I'm glad you managed to dodge this one. From what I've seen with my own family, we've dealt with far fewer of these issues than the national average since the pandemic and all those safety protocols kicked in.

mellownomad7 said:Look, here's the thing: we're dealing with a new strain.

But it's not exactly "new" anymore. We know what we're looking at, and most of us have already run into it.
We know which groups are at risk, we have the tools, and it's basically up to the individual now.

There's no reason to keep calling this a "pandemic" or maintaining these quasi-emergency measures.

Personally, I don't even think this wave is strictly Covid; it could be anything.
My whole family ended up catching some nasty stomach bug/vomiting thing recently.
I managed to dodge it. 😁

If they had actually gone to get tested, who knows what kind of joke of a result they would've gotten.

Bottom line, this whole thing doesn't make sense anymore.

Later.

Perhaps you might consider treating yourselves with something akin to a horse dewormer?

Gregory Turner71 said:We opened up this thread specifically to lay out the rules, and Ariana Grande went through and posted a warning on every single individual topic. Honestly, I feel bad that that specific red card was what ended up getting you banned, but looking back at the post, it was a direct collision with the guidelines.

It isn't, because I had already edited it by then, and you know that's the case. The suspension didn't hit me until the following day.

So? That’s it? I get Cardboarded and banned for absolutely nothing? Or am I being Cardboarded because you guys keep shifting the goalposts, making it impossible for someone who doesn't live here 24/7 to catch every single tweak—even though the moment I was notified of the change, I immediately updated my profile to comply?

Original post:

Casey Bennett said:It’s likely just your browser holding onto old data; you might want to dig through your settings and see what's going on there.

I’m running into an issue with the forum itself. It seems like all the redirects are pointing to HTTP:// instead of HTTPS://, which means my browser isn't passing over my credentials, forcing me to log back in every single time I visit. This started happening just this morning.

Original post:

I’ve been handed a suspension with 45 points just because I dared to reply to Hilderik’s claim that I’m spreading nothing but fake propaganda. Interestingly enough, Hilderik isn't facing any disciplinary action for his own post.

It seems there's a clear double standard regarding who holds value here.

Well, damn it, if that's how it works, hand him a suspension too! What's your deal?

Walter Bennett2 said:

A viral infection usually causes myocarditis, but it can also stem from a drug reaction or some broader inflammatory issue. Symptoms involve chest pain, exhaustion, breathing problems, and irregular heartbeats. May 29, 2020

They conveniently left that out.
So, basically ANY viral infection.

There is growing literature regarding the affection of the cardiovascular system in COVID-19 infection. Cardiac injury (troponin I elevation, ECG and echocardiography abnormalities) across different studies, which is around 7.2%5 of the patients, arrhythmia was found in 16.7%.5

In another study, 83 patients with severe and critical COVID-19 infection underwent a CT scan,6 chest pain was reported in 6% of the patients and pericardial effusion was found in 4.8%, which suggests that acute pericarditis could be an under diagnosed pathology, and therefore, not correctly managed and treated. Continued observations of the cardiovascular complications of the disease are needed.

Are you suggesting just any virus other than the one actually confirmed?

I honestly can't fathom where you all managed to dig this up.

https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardio...d-pericarditis
https://casereports.bmj.com/content/13/8/e237617

Of course, the frequency of this side effect among the vaccinated is significantly lower than what we see in those who actually catch the virus, but I won't dwell on that—it doesn't really fit the anti-vax conspiracy narrative, does it?

By the way, there’s a distinct difference between genuine inquiry and Just Asking Questions.

neonfox11 said:So, what exactly is going on over in England then?

So, what exactly is going on over in England then?
Maybe try to actually proući the material before weighing in. There’s plenty of documentation out there, and it isn't quite the scenario you're implying.

Samuel Turner2 said:What is even your deal? Why the sudden aggression and the insults? 👎
Is my questioning the efficacy, quality, or safety of current COVID-19 vaccines actually bothering you that much?
If it is, why?

Questioning things? Not at all. I'm doing plenty of my own questioning.

The answers you provide when questioning yourself seem heavily steeped in ideology, running quite contrary to the actual data available.

Samuel Turner2 said:If anyone actually feels like reading this:

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF IMPERFECT VACCINES FOR IMMUNIZING INFECTIONS

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4394665/

The gist of it:

So, looking at the data, it seems like both LEAKY and waning immunity models show this weird "honeymoon period" right after people start getting vaccinated—something you don't see at all in the old "all-or-nothing" models. Even though these shifts are just temporary, they could seriously mess with how we design vaccination programs. Plus, this gives us a totally different way to look at why certain diseases, like whooping cough, seem to be "rebounding" even in places where vaccination rates stay super high. That spike in cases might not be what everyone thinks; it could just be what happens when that honeymoon period ends. Those massive outbreaks? They might just be temporary swings as things settle into a new normal for the vaccine era.

It is quite telling how the authors touch upon these critical epidemiological shifts while carefully avoiding any suggestion that "imperfect vaccines" shouldn't be administered at all—it’s a curious omission. Still, it might be worth looking through the study yourself, if only to gain a clearer perspective on what we might expect to see unfolding in the near future, preventing that sudden mental stall when people inevitably claim "vaccines don't work," or more pointedly, that "they do more harm than good."