*Hits cameraman with a ball*

Oh haha got him; got him. What a shot.

*Cameraman starts bleeding*

Shooks hands with cameraman and offer him a pint of beer to make up for the incident.

Peter Dutton seemed like a decent guy there. I hope he didn't behave because the election season is underway.

Cheers for the cameraman anyway!

The video:

https://youtube.com/shorts/QAOe8s867ao?feature=shared

After five years of one of the worst pandemics we humans faced, I still meet people who suffer from 'long COVID' or 'long-haul' COVID.

Long COVID comes after the initial infection. The main consequence is that when the symptoms disappear, then they appear again. Most of the symptoms are fatigue, shortness of breath, and sleep disorder. Long COVID can last years, or possibly lifelong...

According to Long COVID science, research and policy, the cumulative global incidence of long COVID is around 400 million individuals.

Main issue and inconvenient: There are no standardised tests to determine if symptoms persisting after COVID-19 infection are due to long COVID. It seems difficult to determine the causes and how to approach it. We only have one area in a hospital in Barcelona that takes care of it. How does it work in your countries?

Work-related impacts: The impact of long COVID on people's ability to work is large. But it is not recognised as a paid sick day (at least here) yet...

COVID is still an issue, even though we are no longer talking about it...

People who are pessimistic about climate change blame climate change for every bad thing that happens. I can only debate one issue at a time. — Agree-to-Disagree

I understand your position, but I think you should also understand why people are pessimistic.

I think there are good examples of that. There were catastrophic natural disasters in Southeast Asian countries (like the Philippines or near the coasts of the Bay of Bengal); hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, floods, etc. in recent times.

Sadly, those nations are very poor and undeveloped. Each natural disaster forces the population to move; they suffer from scarcity, and the public budget is not enough to face those expenses, so the government asks for an international loan, making the currency undervalued. In conclusion, if the Philippines and Bangladesh are already poor, a natural disaster (like a flooding) makes them poorer.

We can say that those events only happen each time. But science is showing us that they are occurring more frequently. One of the main causes of having deadly floods is due to the impact of climate change in countries like Bangladesh or Pakistan. So, in my opinion, I understand why people are negative towards this topic. If you think deeply on it, there are more disadvantages than advantages in experiencing a change in the climate of the territory you are living in.

This is interesting: During the period 1901 to 1975, the highest annual rainfall as recorded was 327 percent of the normal in 1917. The lowest annual rainfall amounting to only 34 percent of the normal was recorded in 1920.

It is a 2011 research. But now, checking the same zone (Sirsa, India) they say: In March 2025, the rainfall in Sirsa was 0.300 mm, which was an increase from the previous month.
In April 2021, the rainfall in Sirsa reached an all-time high of 12.600 mm.

https://www.ceicdata.com/en/india/rainfall-by-district/rainfall-haryana-sirsa-normal

I think it is comprehensible why people are pessimistic about the effects of climate change.

So, you are not a denier of climate change. You actually believe it exists and attribute the consequences to human actions (i.e., the increase in CO2 level), but I guess you are not an alarmist.

You might think some people are just alarmist about climate change, whilst the latter also can have its advantages, but our worrying about the situation and the uncertainty of the future can't let us see it.

So there are two kinds of groups here: when temperatures increase with climate change and poles will defrost, some would see it as catastrophic, but @Agree-to-Disagree would say: "hey, arable lands will be suitable in Russia, and people will not die of extreme cold!"

Hold up!

If you want to discuss the advantages or disadvantages of climate change, this could mean that you are accepting that climate change is an issue that actually exists. I am addressing you with this because in the few conversations we had (when we discussed Valencia's flood), it seemed to me that you were in denial of climate change.

I share it anyway:

@T Clark If you are using a mobile or similar device, switch the screen to "desktop" or whatever it is called in English.

I was editing my screenshot to show you how, but was faster than me.

Update:

0.85

5.2K mentions.

I am stuck!

Isn't it a great quality to have? — Tzeentch

Absolutely.

I have never thought that dyslexia and ADHD were disorders until they were labelled as such by assessment educational tests. Dyslexia never limited me from doing something with words and vocabulary. Folks say dyslexic kids are less able to learn second languages. Yet here I am talking with you in English.

I wonder whether ADHD is a disorder at all — Tzeentch

It is a learning disorder. I am dyslexic, and one of the risk factors is having ADHD. I have been diagnosed with either ADHD because of my dyslexia or just dyslexia. It was always confusing to me. Am I just dyslexic, or does this learning disability also make me have ADHD?

How the mind works is very complex. :chin:

I loved reading Borges too. Apart from his inclination to infinite worlds and labyrinths, I burst into tears after reading the description of the Aleph. It was very beautiful and marvellous. I wish we could experience something like that, contemplating our world through the sparkles of a sphere.

Possible inspiration for the next literary activity? Hmm... :wink:

Blinding, Book One: The Left Wing by Mircea Cartarescu.

Los tres gauchos orientales by Antonio D. Lussich.

Not fine but willing to take the responsibility. — Benkei

Neat! I can't do anything else than appreciate your efforts in this matter.

The only option to resolve this is to close the thread forever. At least we weren't compelled to read it unless you searched for the thread because the mods chose to post it on the lounge. I understand your point of "refreshing" the topic and starting again from zero, with the hope of getting things better. But the topic is about a figure that only makes polarisation. A will say X and B will say Y, and they will discuss endlessly. If you are fine with spending a looooot of time deleting posts and warning users, cool.

I like your new feistiness,but many of the questions were reasonable. — T Clark

First of all, it is obvious that banning social media links is a wise and nice decision.

Whenever I read the replies to this thread, I can't avoid laughing about some folks. I think it can't be clearer: Going forward, any post that includes a link or embed from social media outside these areas will be deleted in full. No partial edits. No warnings. If you’re not sure whether something counts as “social media,” err on the side of caution.

But what counts as social media?
But what about straight news?
But what about long videos?
But what about YouTube?
But what about YouTube Kids?

:lol:

Only those who allow AI to think for them ask such foolish questions. Jesus, it will be worse than I expected.

El Aleph by Jorge Luis Borges.

97% of climate scientists agree that they don't want to be defunded. The science is settled !!! — Agree-to-Disagree

Come on, mate. Even this site is funded (by subscribers like you) with donations to keep it free from ads. What in this world can work without funds?

This thread is one of the best on this website so far.

Whenever a user is banned, we all discuss whether the decision was legitimate or not, the reasons for the banning, and how the banned user could have acted to avoid his/her banning.

But what I like the most is that here you can see some folks (myself included) wishing for the banning of others. If you ban him for this, you should also ban the other for that, hehe.

Two weeks ago it was @Arcane Sandwich; now it is @Gregory.

This works like throwing a token in the roulette. Who will be the next of us to be tagged as 'banned'?

Perhaps we need an Inquisition into the matter? — BitconnectCarlos

Yeah, perhaps mate. But I would ask the Rota Inquisition court to act in a less malicious manner than Jews do in Palestine.

Bedtime, Carlitos. It is important to sleep early so you will not miss the catechesis exam tomorrow. :wink:

I’m not used to seeing anger from you. — T Clark

Because I am shy.

That's right.

My point was not backing Gregory but protesting that there are folks who are also toxic like a rotten swamp.

Even though it is complex to moderate a website where different people with mixed opinions can post, I think it is not the right thing to draw a scale where the tones represent the topics or opinions that are more or less tolerated.

Since he wished the death of women, that's obviously a 'red flag' for someone who wants to interact with others. But I also received replies such as "your country should have never existed" because of the colonisation of America. Topics where our emotions are out of control. I guess the intelligent way to act is to ignore those kinds of comments, but I understand that some can't just let it go.

:up:

But what about when some of you justify the nuclear attack on Japan? Would I be ok with just ignoring it too?

A 'double standard' for free speech, huh.

This is a philosophy forum. There should be a reasonable tolerance for off-beat or even strange views. — Tzeentch

Reasonable tolerance... here? Uff...

I'm still waiting for individuals who rejoice in the genocide in Gaza to be banned. But I suppose making weird and incel posts about women is worse than endorsing the eradication of an ethnicity.

You know the famous guidelines...

Ignorance by Milan Kundera.

Coplas por la muerte de su padre by Jorge Manrique.

Dormir al sol, Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Nice! :up:

Those two yellow lines got me puzzled because they are over the corpse and not under. It is as if they were painted after he lay down.

El gaucho Martín Fierro; La vuelta de Martín Fierro by José Hernández.

A really sad day. I lost a Hispanic friend on the forum.

I had several PMs with him, talking about a lot of different things. He was a very active user, and I wondered why he hadn't posted anything for the past weeks. I didn't ask him because I think there is some break or holiday in Argentina, so I thought it was just that.

I didn't know you asked him to behave once, and I am sorry he responded you with bad manners. I honestly believe he is a good person, but he might not have understood how TPF works, and it is true that 2K posts in just a few months is a lot.

When I saw he posted a lot of threads continuously, I thought: "mods would ask him to behave. Otherwise, he could be banned."

Sadly, I was right. :broken:

If these really interesting members would slow down their posting, I believe they would remain here.

Furthermore, he is a professional philosopher in Argentina and has written interesting books. I think he could have been a great user.

I will miss Martín (@Arcane Sandwich).

If Russia wants war with Europe, it's welcome to it because it will lose just as it lost the Cold War. — Benkei

No doubt. But the amount of money and years that would eventually take the following reconstruction could be frightening. Imagine Europe spending years and wasting resources to recover from a war once again.

We always thought that diplomacy was the main venue to solve disputes (I still think it is), but, sadly, the main superpowers are forcing us to spend a lot of money on the army because we no longer can trust them.

This is the way I see it:

The United States of America has never been a friend or an ally, but a partner. They wanted security and prosperity in Europe because this would benefit them. But they never had in mind anything else than defending themselves. The WWII was a good example of that. Until the Pearl Harbour attack, they didn't care about the war in Europe.

I always saw American foreign policy as a threat to Europe and my country, just because of the way they always tried to impose how we should behave in the world they created after WWII. I think they don't really understand Europe; probably, the average American can't point your country on the map; they think we are Mexico or Africa, and I guess they don't know about Slovakia's existence.

Why did we let these guys put their military bases on our land? Time to do self-criticism.

I understand why you Finns are worried; now Trump is fond of a threat to your nation. But let's not forget that he is also very friendly with Muhammad (the dictator of Morocco). What would happen if that mad lad decided to attack Ceuta and Melilla? Will Trump support him? Will Trump threaten Sanchez and Spain as he did with Zelensky and Ukraine?

In the next decades, Europe has to think more about itself! We are older than them. We have more experience in struggling in war or hot zones.

I think @ssu deserves to be tagged or mentioned in your post. The PM of Finns is really worried about the current situation; so too @ssu, I guess. :smile:

Interesting, ssu. :up:

Thanks for letting me know!

@Baden @ssu

I remember having deep conversations about The Troubles with you, lads.

I am currently watching 'Say Nothing' on Disney+. A very well-dramatised version of the Irish and NI issue. The actors are very good, and wow, the scenes are so realistic that it feels like it is happening nowadays.

I thought you would be interested in watching it. :up:

European law has primacy, I’m afraid. — NOS4A2

and

European law has primacy in some matters like obligations and contracts. Yet national law still has its primacy in key aspects like the constitution and criminal law/procedure. Nonetheless, it is important to highlight that the EU law is not about to hold a "primacy" but to get a community acquis with the aim of rowing together in the same direction.

Ukraine becoming a giant blackhole for money... — Tzeentch

It will no longer be a black hole when gas contracts are signed and effective again. Be patient: We’ve been holding on for three years. The key is to resist until we get a better agreement to Europe's interests.

No surprise. It was expected. After the circus of last Friday, Trump even gave us reason to believe that now he is also a threat to Ukraine and Europe.

My honest statement of sorrow for criticising President Zelensky in the past:

Since the last events that took place at The White House (Washington, United States of America), I have been reflecting on what I posted here, (and what is worse) what was my opinion on Zelensky, yet I wasn't even entitled to say that and the other.

I defended with high emphasis that Zelensky was a puppet of both Biden senior (the President) and Biden junior (Hunter), but after watching the heated discussion with Trump and Vance, I regret now all that I thought. I ranted at him about gas prices and how everything went up because of the war crisis.

Nonetheless, Zelensky pointed out something critical: We signed a gas contract. A gas contract, yes.

I opened my eyes and awoke from my ignorance. It turned clear to me that Ukraine is a country full of natural resources whose sovereignty is subdued to different empires. Russia in the past and America has interest now.

It would be very difficult to be a president of a nation where bullies want to huddle you up and rip off your land. Look, it is not about to be pro-Russian or pro-Ukraine, yes? It is about how people from Eastern Europe are defending their dignity. We live in countries where natural resources are low, but imagine that you have some, and your destination depends on what deal is done at a random desk in a Western nation.

Too bad. I regret what I thought and posted in the past, but intelligent people rectify. Kudos to Zelensky for facing Trump.

3/3/2025.

Spanish are even less are thinking of taking back their old possessions. — ssu

We declined the fantasy of taking back our old possessions since the day we lost them all! :rofl:

My damn pure, beautiful and sweet language :heart: