• Is the mind divisible?
    an actual argument that the mind is not an immaterial soulBartricks

    Isn't there an existential claim hiding there that needs justification in its own right...? "immaterial soul"?

    Probably read this or something similar here on the forum... Mind is to body much like what digestion is to stomach.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    The plot thickens ...

    The Enemy Within (Jul 28, 2022)

    Five people with knowledge of the Kremlin’s preparations said war planners around President Vladimir Putin believed that, aided by these agents, Russia would require only a small military force and a few days to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration to quit, flee or capitulate.

    Old modus operandi. Vague echoes in Transnistria and Donbas.
  • Is the mind divisible?
    Mind isn't just one thing, it's more like an umbrella term for, say, thinking, feeling happy, perceiving red, experiencing, liking coffee, being self-aware, sentience, ... Maybe some such things are necessary or sufficient or something, to whatever degrees, to be (deemed) a mind?
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Sonnenfeld and Tian writes:

    Actually, the Russian Economy Is Imploding (Jul 22, 2022) - archived
    The myth of Putin as world energy czar is running out of gas (Jul 25, 2022)

    Myth 1: Russia can redirect its gas exports and sell to Asia in lieu of Europe.
    Myth 2: Since oil is more fungible than gas, Putin can just sell more to Asia.
    Myth 3: Russia is making up for lost Western businesses and imports by replacing them with imports from Asia.
    Myth 4: Russian domestic consumption and consumer health remain strong.
    Myth 5: Global businesses have not really pulled out of Russia, and business, capital, and talent flight from Russia are overstated.
    Myth 6: Putin is running a budget surplus thanks to high energy prices.
    Myth 7: Putin has hundreds of billions of dollars in rainy day funds, so the Kremlin’s finances are unlikely to be strained anytime soon.
    Myth 8: The ruble is the world’s strongest-performing currency this year.
    Myth 9: The implementation of sanctions and business retreats are now largely done, and no more economic pressure is needed.


    Their language is somewhat loaded/slanted (suspect), perhaps a bit much for some readers. The article is argumentative. In line with their other reports. They've been involved with tracking organizations leaving and staying in Russia.

    Effects of sanctions matter, and the article says they're effective. I'd like to know if/how regular people throughout Russia are impacted; if they can't get a new designer jacket, oh well; if they're starving to death, ...
  • James Webb Telescope
    Gyroscopes in space (Mar 19, 2016; 1m:18s)

    ↑ Demonstrating somewhat counter-intuitive gyroscope in zero gravity.

    Wikipedia » Spacecraft bus (James Webb Space Telescope) » Gyroscopes
    NASA » General Questions about Webb
    NASA » Technical FAQ on a variety of mission issues, aspects and capabilities.
  • Climate change denial
    Earth Overshoot Day

    Jul 28, 2022 (this year)

    By the way, they do list some actions that can help.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Via The Financial Times ...

    Captured nuclear plant doubles as launch pad for relentless Russian rocket attacks (Jul 22, 2022)

    I suppose, as a strategy, this sort of works.
    A camp by enriched uranium is risky to attack.
    Would the occupiers threaten with (or otherwise perpetrate) a radioactive leak if their position was threatened? (Perhaps a bit like the Kuwaiti oil fires?)
  • Ukraine Crisis
    So, Putin wants to set up a "vote" in the Kherson region. :D

    Mar 31, 2022 Russia to stage independence referendum in Kherson region, says Ukraine
    Apr 28, 2022 Occupied Ukrainian city fears sham Russian referendum plans
    Jun 11, 2022 Russia Moving Forward With 'Referendum' Plans in Occupied Southern Ukraine, Says Kherson Mayor
    Jun 29, 2022 Occupied Kherson Readying for Vote to Join Russia, Official Claims
    Jul 21, 2022 In occupied south Ukraine, some fear a return to Soviet times under Russia


    The city of Kherson is Russia.Kirill Stremousov (reported May 13, 2022)
    We've decided - the people of Kherson region have decided - that we need to hold a referendum and vote to join the Russian Federation.Kirill Stremousov (reported Jul 21, 2022)

    In the rearview mirror, Putin (and team) handling votes and elections ain't exactly trustworthy.
    Of course, the resemblance of democracy is supposed to render legitimacy — theatrics.
    I'm guessing that's why Kyiv seems to focus on retaking the region, though they'd have to be careful, no atrocities, no surplus destruction, don't fuel Putin's propaganda machine, all that.
  • Beating the odds to exist.
    Goes further than sentience, doesn't it...?
    Markedly further, as far as I can tell.

    A hundred years ago, what were the chances that I'd be sitting here, typing this stuff now, on this device, hooked up to this network?
    A million years ago?
    Both seem vanishingly small, quickly converging on zero the longer ago.
    (Unless we go by strict determinism I guess.)
    Well, here I am, typing, at present a chance of 100% when expressed in those terms.

    Extending the inquiry, what's the chance of our present world among all possible worlds?
    Vanishingly small?
    Whatever it might be, I'm not sure it's possible to make such an assessment.
    The forum is going regardless, and about to be polluted with my comment, of all things. :)

    By the way, I wouldn't restrict life to life as we know it.
    In analogy, it's harder to imagine a (similarly) different sort of sentience, but I wouldn't restrict to sentience as we know it either.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    , already mentioned I'm not going to keep repeating; now at page 297.
    Replace "know" with: as consistent with evidence as those other hypotheses.
    Actions over time, reports, statements (keeping bullshitting in mind), ..., a multipronged attempt to gain an overview, that includes NATO, Nazis, whatever, but lots more than just that, ...
    trends, moves and shakes, ongoing developments, extending what's happened already, directions, [...], from Putin bullshitting the gullible to the Ukrainian "nobody" on the street shrugging and babbling (actually present on the ground)
    (OK, I did a repeat/copy/paste :smile:)
  • Evolution, creationism, etc?
    What general category would evolution and creationism both fall into?TiredThinker
    Natural science and religious fiction, respectively.180 Proof

    :up: in short

    Across the two, creationists have been running an anti-science campaign for a long time:
    The Imminent Demise of Evolution: The Longest Running Falsehood in Creationism
    Fortunately, some have smartened up:
    Panel Discussion on Mere Theistic Evolution - EPS 2019
  • Ukraine Crisis
    , yeah, that proposal is unlikely to be accepted. But getting the parties to talk would be great. At least the Black Sea shipment thing seems to have gone through. External shipping lines are going to require guarantees/safety though, not an overnight thing.

    , ignoring the usual unpleasantries and guesswork as to my mental state, the proposal items largely aren't new, and the article is from last month (Jun). Some of the items probably can't be taken off. Negotiations take (willingness) to compromise, at least to talk about it. Putin wants as much of Ukraine as he can get away with, Zelenskyy wants the Russian forces to leave, then whatever details.

    , yeah, there are trends and reasons that Putin + team aren't looking for peace. Heck, the invasion was kicked off with an attack on the capital (among other moves).

    No end in sight, and as long as Putin + team aren't interested, the hostilities will keep on going.

    Putin sends in the cannon fodder. If they're shot at, then bombs away. Repeat. Don't forget a few extra bombs for good measure. — paraphrasing Volkov

    Airstrikes kill more Ukrainians despite grain export deal (AP News; Jul 22, 2022)

    Missile strikes hit key Ukrainian port day after grain deal (Euronews; Jul 23, 2022)

    EDIT: added Euronews article
  • Defendant: Saudi Arabia
    Putting aside the debate on debate and epistemology for a momentEnnui Elucidator

    Epistemic wandering off is subject to implosion, right down to subjective idealism or solipsism. And we could wander indefinitely down the diallelus. If we do (or entertain) that, then epistemic warrant evaporates — and evaporates equally to those claims of "supernatural magic". Dead end. Old story. Fortunately, though, such musings are roughly only found in philosophy departments; we already have strong epistemic standards to go by.

    And those standards have more or less sent "supernatural witchcraft" packing. Besides, those claiming it's real, have consistently failed to justify. That's what the Saudi Arabian authorities go by nonetheless.

    If, on the other hand, we're talking self-proclaimed witches, wearing talismans, doing whatever rituals, then their curses have still not been shown to harm others, not by "magic" at least.

    "Supernatural witchcraft" is out either way. It's a non-explanation in the first place anyway.

    the idea is that whether or not your intent and behavior (mens rea and actus rea) can factually result in your desired criminal outcome, the factual impossibility is no defense to being convicted of crimes that do not (or may not) require a particular outcome to be accomplished (cf inchoate crimes such as conspiracy and attempt)Ennui Elucidator

    Just as an example, I guess these people deliberately intended to magically harm someone they thought harmful, and other groups intended to (magically) counter that:

    Witches cast 'mass spell' against Donald Trump (BBC; Feb 25, 2017)

    Are the SAA authorities morally abhorrent, deserving of overthrow, etc? I'd go with a yes.Ennui Elucidator

    In this particular context (the opening post), I wouldn't go that far. Ending that ridiculous, unjust killing will do. (Per earlier comments, I'm reluctant to expand a verdict, let alone sentence, beyond the topic at hand.)

    As mentioned, if we were to make a (strictly) legal assessment, then we reach a dead end because there's no definition of "witch". Going by the examples (executions) instead then, we're right back to "supernatural witchcraft". Not much more to see here. Ethics remain.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Leonid Volkov (Alexei Navalny chief of staff) opines (Jul 17, 2022):


    Ignoring the usual political slant, I see a couple of worthwhile points. By the way, the reduction-to-chess-game misses the killings and bombing.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    A Proposed Peace Plan to End the Russo-Ukrainian War (Jun 18, 2022)

    Realistic?

    1. full Ukraine sovereignty and neutrality
    2. Ukraine to give up Crimea
    3. Russia to withdraw except for Donbas, where new (temporary) borders will be drawn
    4. Donbas to vote on independence, equal rights to all, no discrimination
    5. Russia to OK Ukraine joining the EU as the case may be
    6. no NATO/Ukraine relations
    7. small Ukraine military only
    8. small Ukraine weaponry only
    9. everyone caught up in the war to be returned home (Geneva Convention)
    10. no reparations demands, no international war crimes tribunals
    11. US and EU to help rebuild Ukraine
    12. diplomatic relations among Russia, Ukraine, NATO members to be in place
    13. sanctions against Russia to end
    14. no more NATO members along Russia's borders
    15. reduce military presence and nuclear weaponry altogether
    (I'll assume that some sort of Black Sea agreement + passage + cleanup would be part of it)


    Either way, why not take it to the negotiation table?
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Surprise, ? Must the thread really be reset ever so often (⇒ repetition)? Sorry, not going to keep restarting/resetting (even though we're coming up on 300 pages).
    Indeed, trends, moves and shakes, ongoing developments, extending what's happened already, directions, give an impression, forms an overview, from Putin bullshitting the gullible to the Ukrainian "nobody" on the street shrugging and babbling (actually present on the ground).
    Wait, yes, let me just repeat...
    This stuff isn't floating in a vacuum.
    Come to think on it, I'd have liked further comments on...
    Anyone who didn't think from the get-go that this was always about China in the long run has not been paying attention.Streetlight
    Unfortunately, Streetlight is out, and it's a while back. :meh:
  • Ukraine Crisis
    , what, challenging "the west" to shoot it out on "the battlefield"? Boasting military prowess? Walking out on a top meeting? Shutting down talks? All the while bombing the Ukrainians and announcing a larger "special operation"...? :D Get real. There's been comments in the thread already.

    Yeah

    "special operation" = (attempted) land-grab

    (Besides, those magnificent Ukrainian fields, those militarily and economically advantageous Black Sea shores, in "the right hands", connecting the Moldovian "resistance" with Father Kremlin, ... Just divert attention, shut down other voices at home, and roll the dice.)

    Lose sight of ...

    The Ukrainians still want the invaders to leave. Ukraine has supporters that Russia doesn't. What Putin and Peskov nonchalantly call "the battlefield" is Ukraine. Putin's team went theatrical.

    ... and you lose sight of the basics. And that's that. You don't get to invade, bomb, try to take over, and think no one will notice.

    By the way, those "nobodys" (a country of "dumb automatons" apparently (racism aside)) confirm what's been argued in the thread already. Not new or anything.

    This stuff isn't floating in a vacuum. Coming up on 300 pages. :o
  • Climate change denial
    Could the anti-climate-change efforts eventually see a parallel to the anti-pandemic/mask/vaccine movement?

    I really understand their anger. The farmers are also angry because they say, ‘we are the only sector who get all the blame.’ What about industry? What about the traffic? Maybe we should just ban all the cars in the Netherlands because they also emit nitrogen. This plan as announced in practice means that, in certain areas, farmers have to reduce their nitrogen emissions by 70%. That means they simply have to quit.Marcel Crok

    This is literally communism. If the state says, ‘we are going to take your private property away for the sake of a greater good,’ then the state has the prerogative to create crises to strip you of your rights. That's what's happening here. This will definitely affect ordinary civilians. It's part of a global agenda, so everyone around the world, especially Western countries, should be aware that this is something that is not just about the Dutch government. This is part of the ‘2030 agenda,’ this is part of the ‘great reset.’ — Eva Vlaardingerbroek


    It is not very rational to curb the Dutch agriculture if you realize that they have the highest production per acre in the world and therefore the environmental load per kilogram food is lower than elsewhere. So, in a sense Dutch agriculture is a benefit for climate as well as biodiversity.Simon Rozendaal

    Similar protests could soon happen in the U.K. and parts of the European Union where natural gas and energy costs are near historic levels.
    The issue is that despite this growing energy crisis in Europe, some governments still prioritize the climate agenda which makes energy ever more expensive, or which forces farmers to close their farms because that is the top priority, still, for a number of governments. This whole green agenda is causing huge burdens.
    The Dutch are driven mad by these policies because it's killing their businesses and the farmers are fighting back big time.
    This is what's going to happen all over Europe. I have no doubt that, come winter and millions of families can't heat their homes or pay their bills anymore, that there will be unrest all over Europe.
    Benny Peiser

  • Ukraine Crisis
    Via Financial Times:

    Ukraine war news from February 25: Kyiv suburbs breached, Russian forces face resistance, Zelensky warns Russia will ‘storm’ capital (Feb 25, 2022)

    Via Reuters:

    Russia declares expanded war goals beyond Ukraine's Donbas (Jul 20, 2022)

    Via The Guardian:

    Today, we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say? Let them try. We have heard many times that the west wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this.Vladimir Putin (Jul 8, 2022)
    Russia’s potential is so great that only a small portion of it is being used in the special operation.Dmitry Peskov (Jul 8, 2022)
    If the west doesn’t want talks to take place but wishes for Ukraine to defeat Russia on the battlefield – because both views have been expressed – then perhaps there is nothing to talk about with the west.Sergei Lavrov (Jul 8, 2022)

    Lavrov walks out of G20 talks after denying Russia is causing food crisis (Jul 8, 2022)
    Russian foreign minister accuses the west of frenzied criticism over his country’s invasion of Ukraine

    The Ukrainians still want the invaders to leave. Ukraine has supporters that Russia doesn't. What Putin and Peskov nonchalantly call "the battlefield" is Ukraine. Putin's team went theatrical.

    Just saw an interview with a Danish reporter in Odessa (Jul 20, 2022):
    Whether exaggerated or not, Pesky's (bombastic) statement has truth to it: Russia has an inherent upper hand here due to amount of resources, location, size, and Russia isn't being invaded, don't recall anyone having threatened to do so here.
    The reporter had asked a number of Ukrainians what they thought of statements like those quoted, and they all just shrugged at them, responding that nothing coming out of those people can be trusted.

    "special operation" = (attempted) land-grab
  • Is there an external material world ?
    the scientist as detached observer, an all-seeing eye, in a world of objects theoretically intelligible in terms of their primary attributes, describable in terms of Cartesian algebraic geometeryWayfarer

    Not sure that's an accurate or fair description.
    Experiments are often devised to focus on specific variables and to eliminate others, ceteris paribus.
    This has worked fine in many or most cases, then there are cases where that becomes more difficult.
    Say, when a measurement itself interferes markedly with the measured, or when the larger environment/system (in a sort of holistic sense) can't be ignored.
    It's just a (traditional) feature of designing experiments to minimize elements that aren't the objective, it's not so much that other elements simply are said to not exist.
  • Climate change denial
    , sorry, no offense intended. Deforestation, pollution, nature/wildlife displacement, population growth, renewability, ..., all related. Just thought I'd make sure comments are on the same page.
  • Climate change denial
    scrub CO2 from the atmosphereTate

    That's what trees have been doing for...some time...sort of.

    iyggl73ti4o3uvol.jpg

    (↑ simplified, but probably good enough here)

    I guess it's not just a matter of inventing a cool CO2 vacuum cleaner.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    A quick check on the Sweden Finland NATO thing, from whatever sources:

    Feb 24 Russia invades Ukraine
    Feb 25 Russia threatens ‘military and political consequences’ if Finland, Sweden try joining NATO
    Feb 26 Finland, Sweden brush off Moscow's warning on joining NATO
    Mar 12 Russian Official Warns Finland, Sweden Against Joining NATO
    Mar 23 An anti-Russian 'disinformation operation' has singled out a Finnish university but it's unclear why
    Apr 11 Ukraine War: Russia warns Sweden and Finland against Nato membership
    Apr 14 Russia warns of nuclear deployment if Sweden, Finland join NATO
    Apr 22 Russian media in Switzerland: A mix of propaganda and anti-regime critics
    Apr 25 Sweden and Finland agree to submit Nato applications, say reports
    May 06 Posters in Moscow accuse famous Swedes of backing Nazism
    May 12 Russia threatens ‘retaliatory steps’ if Finland joins NATO
    May 15 Finland and Sweden confirm intention to join Nato
    May 16 Putin sees no threat from NATO expansion, warns against military build-up
    Jun 30 Putin says Finland and Sweden can 'go ahead' and join NATO but warned the countries against hosting the alliance's 'military contingents and infrastructure'
    Jul 05 Russia Reacts to Sweden and Finland Nearing NATO Membership
    Jul 13 Moomin features in anti-Finland propaganda on Moscow streets


    (the articles themselves are usually fairly short, don't take a day to read, but have references, which can take a while to sift through)

    Someone's been busy. Spreading garbage left and right.

    Until or if Putin can threaten/force Sweden/Finland sufficiently, they'll be parts of NATO defense, unlike Ukraine. As it stands, I don't think Putin and team really have the extra resources. Rattling the nukes brought some additional attention onto them. (Might not be the best for them?) Russia threatens, invades Ukraine, threatens a bit, dismisses a bit, two other neighbors set to join NATO, ...

    What are the trends? What to make of it?
  • Climate change denial
    , the usual "disconnect" is seen... :/ Of course economies, politics, etc, matter as well, yet nature doesn't care about our talking — without action, our environment will just go on its course — and that part ought to be part of the economical talk as well.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    , wow, thought this would have been clear enough, and already spoken to in the thread, guess not.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    The weapons are just so the West can say "it tried" (and also supply the black market to destabilise the entire continents security).boethius
    The so-called moral imperative of "freedom" or whatever is merely a tool to whip people up into whatever frenzy people need to be in to support self-harming policiesboethius

    Really? That's the story and the whole story? (And the Ukrainians are but dumb automatons? And Putin + team?) :/ "Tunnel-vision" came to mind. Was going to start listing examples/quotes/whatever, but the thread is almost at page 300, plenty's been posted already, bit more than the ↑ quoted account.
  • Is there an external material world ?
    , isn't in/determinate epistemic, whereas being "this" or "that" is ontological?

    (ah, nevermind me, time to turn in)
  • Understanding the Christian Trinity
    ↪Tom Storm Would a clone refer to its original as "father"? Possibly. Would we consider some kind of continuation of personhood as well between a clone and its original? Probably. So obviously we were created by all powerful aliens in their image where only Jesus was a clone. Problem solved.Benkei

    Ancient Aliens: Was Noah an Alien? (Season 9) | History

    ;)

    By Law of Identity, if “two” things have the same set of properties, then they are one-and-the-same, and if not, then they are distinct.A Christian Philosophy

    The law of identity (1st law of logic), and identity of indiscernibles (Leibnizian metaphysics), aren't the same, at least they aren't in philosophy.
  • Defendant: Saudi Arabia
    I considered a similar poll regarding homosexuality.
    (In principle at least, people would/should be similarly equipped to do an assessment; this one has received more spotlight though.)
    Defining "homosexual" would be easier, their laws more "well defined", yet equally unjust, inhuman, indecent, wrong.


    :D
  • The Ultimate Question of Metaphysics
    Philosophical musings:

    Nothingness (Roy Sorensen; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; updated Feb 28, 2022)

    Physicist musings:

    The Four Different Meanings Of 'Nothing' To A Scientist (Ethan Siegel; Forbes; May 1, 2020)
    • a condition where the raw ingredients to create your "something" didn't exist
    • nothingness is the void of empty space
    • nothingness as the ideal lowest-energy state possible for spacetime
    • nothingness only occurs when you remove the entire universe and the laws that govern it

    From some we might expect "nothingness" to express (exhaustive) absence of everything/anything, i.e. by negation, like the missing complement to existence. Oddly enough, this also implies absence of constraints, conservation (physics), prevention, etc. Not much to speak of it seems. A referent-free word? If there was another reason for it all, for existence, then that reason wouldn't exist, since existence/all is inclusive (by definition). There's something suspect about this inquiry.

    Colloquially we might say something like "there's nothing in the fridge", meaning the fridge is empty, ready to be filled (with beer). Rather different from the other uses.

    But, amazingly, it's all somehow around. :)
  • Is there an external material world ?
    10.1177_1059712319862774-fig1.gifIsaac

    Thanks for posting those papers, however crazy technical they are. :up: :)

    Hierarchical Models in the Brain (Nov 2008), Active Inference: A Process Theory (Aug 2016), Variational ecology and the physics of sentient systems (Dec 2019)

    Didn't see the image you posted; is that from a different paper?

    I guess they don't address the Levine / Chalmers thing directly, yet the models give their own insights.
  • Is there an external material world ?
    Maybe we could categorize a bit...?

    • The perception = the perceived (the same)
    · hallucinations, phantom pain, dreams, fantasies

    • The perception ≠ the perceived (not the same)
    · other people, supper, the ground you walk on, tornadoes

    So, in a way, by this categorization, a hallucination is a mistake: thinking it belongs in the ≠ category, but it doesn't. "You're just seeing pink elephants that ain't there."

    And, solipsism is a mistake thinking others belong in the = category, but they don't. (I'm ditching solipsism here by assumption if you will, yet, by that assumption it categorizes that way, and that'll do; no proofs here.)

    Then there's synesthesia, which is a bit of this, a bit of that, or can be.

    Anyway, the idea is just that we already have various ways of talking about these (repeated) topics, and trying to somehow make some more concise could lead down less tread avenues. Don't know if this one can work, tho'. Doesn't get into neurology for example.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Putin says a lot of things, like in 2014:

    Don't worry, Putin says he doesn't want Ukraine (PRX; Mar 29, 2014)

    Others have other things to say, like in 2015:

    'Nobody here is asking to leave Ukraine': Minorities see Russian meddling (Al Jazeera; May 4, 2015)
  • Ukraine Crisis
    The Ukrainians aren't going to just give up.

    It is ridiculous to think that if Zelensky gives such an order, the people will lay down their arms. People are fighting not for Zelensky, not for the president. Like some.Evgeny Vladimirovich (Jun 28, 2022)

    Been mentioned a few times in the thread on whatever angles. Comparatively, it's a fairly large population, and they're in a defense position.

    The invasion or bombings/ruinage (or something at least), could end by the words of Putin or one of his compadres.

    Mykhailo Podolyak has stated some conditions ...
    • ceasefire
    • withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine
    • return of citizens
    • reparations mechanism
    ... but, with continuing bombings/ruinage, Peskov's comments, concessions (mentioned already), etc, the Ukrainians are (increasingly) distrusting whatever comes out of the Kremlin. (Actually, I'm guessing most are and have been for some time.)

    There are journalists, foreign news teams, whatever, scattered over Ukraine; they've been largely contained or disabled (or banned) in Russia and areas under Russian control.

    Has a measure of "realism" ↑ @Tzeentch.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Don't know why you're giving oxygen to Russian propaganda.Wayfarer

    Sorry, my aim was more to expose Pesky Peskov, maybe for analysis.
    His comments seem kind of transparently slanted - while the bombs are going, and people on the ground are taking the hits.

    Yeah, there are all kinds of reports.

  • Ukraine Crisis
    Dim Pesky has been chatty, sort of. (Apologies for the Jun 28 repeat.)

    Peskov: Zelensky, if desired, can stop the special operation until the end of the day

    Peskov: Zelensky can stop hostilities in a day by giving the order to lay down arms

    MOSCOW, June 28 - RIA Novosti. The Ukrainian authorities, if they wish, can stop hostilities within a few hours, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on publications about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's plans to end hostilities before winter.

    “The Ukrainian side can stop everything before the end of the current day, we need an order for nationalist units to lay down their arms, an order for the Ukrainian military to lay down their arms, and we need to fulfill the conditions of the Russian Federation. Everything can end before the end of the day. The rest is the thoughts of the head of the Ukrainian state,” the press said -Secretary of the President.

    He added that the Russian side is guided by the statements of Vladimir Putin - “a special military operation is going according to plan and achieving its goals.” Peskov clarified that there are no approximate dates for its completion.

    The day before, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Zelensky, who addressed the leaders of the G7, called on Ukraine's sponsors to make the most of the next few months. According to him, “a protracted conflict is not in the interests of the Ukrainian people for objective reasons.”

    In addition, Reuters, citing EU diplomats, reported that Zelensky told the G7 leaders about the need to end the conflict before the onset of winter.

    Since February 24, Russia has been conducting a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin called its goal “the protection of people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.”
    RIA (Jun 28, 2022)

    Ukraine will have to understand the conditions of Russia, said Peskov

    Putin's press secretary Peskov said that Ukraine will have to accept the conditions of Russia

    PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, July 3 - RIA Novosti. The demand for initiatives to pacify the situation in Ukraine in the West has decreased, but sooner or later common sense will prevail and the turn of negotiations will come, before which Kyiv will have to understand the conditions of Russia, said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.

    “Now the demand for initiatives to pacify the situation has decreased. But we have no doubt that sooner or later common sense will prevail. them. Sit down at the table (of negotiations). And just fix the document that has already been agreed in many respects,” Peskov said in Pavel Zarubin's "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program on the Russia 1 TV channel, commenting on the militant statements from Western leaders.
    RIA (Jul 3, 2022)

    The West is still betting on the continuation of the war, not allowing Kyiv to talk about peace, said Dmitry Peskov.

    “Now is the moment when Western countries are betting with might and main on the continuation of the war. This means that the moment continues when Western countries, under the leadership of Washington, speaking Russian, do not allow Ukrainians to think, talk about peace, or discuss peace,” — Peskov said.
    ТАСС (Jul 3, 2022)

    Immediate ceasefire. Withdrawal of z-troops from Ukraine. Return of kidnapped citizens. Extradition of war criminals. Mechanism of reparations. Recognition of sovereign rights [of] Ukraine... The Russian side knows our conditions very well. Chief Peskov (a) may not worry: the time will come, and we will record them on paper.Mykhailo Podolyak (Jul 3, 2022)

    Not really any end in sight. :/ I wonder what to make of it. Has there been unknown pressure in Moscow? ...? Will Belarus get drawn in? One can just speculate, even a couple of weeks later. Peskov says the Ukrainians have no will of their own (despite evidence to the contrary, including in this thread). Part of the show I guess, while the bombs are going, and people on the ground are taking the hits. Would be awful if Ukraine is turned into a country of haters.
  • Climate change denial
    Have to wonder how much fossil fuel has been transformed since the industrialization (and before), say, by decade, and how much is left to transform.
    Don't think I've seen the two numbers plotted on one graph going centuries back; would be interesting though. Anyone know/have?
    Then there's deforestation, pollution, roads, cities, farms, nature/wildlife displacement, all that. Humans + "footprints" + remains are all over (bombing too for that matter).
    A global scale thing. Anthropogenic effects are noticeable. Global scale responses seem called for.
  • Is there an external material world ?
    I think you are trying get leverage from aspects of your worldview. All that allows you to do is comment on your worldview.Tate

    You want to talk about me instead...? :roll: Suggest posting about the comment.
  • Is there an external material world ?
    Maybe there are actually two cups, one for you and one for me, and we communicate telepathically about our individual scenes.Tate

    :D (you're just dreaming that you're reading posts on a forum)

    Point is: watch out for question begging.Tate

    There are no proofs here. Just switching to other (descriptive) verbiage.