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I'm open to the facts. If they change, then so does my mind.

What facts do you have to present?

Reason is what you listen to, not yelling.

Here are several studies that show the efficacy of mask wearing for the control of COVID-19:

Scientific Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 10 November 2020.

Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=The Lancet |date=27 June 2020 |volume=395 |issue=10242 |pages=1973–1987 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31142-9|pmid=32497510 |pmc=7263814 |doi-access=free

Scientific Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 |url=cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=10 November 2020

Reduction of secondary transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in households by face mask use, disinfection and social distancing: a cohort study in Beijing, China |journal=BMJ Global Health |date=May 2020 |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=e002794 |doi=10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002794|pmid=32467353 |pmc=7264640 |doi-access=free

Scientific Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 |url=cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=10 November 2020

Case-Control Study of Use of Personal Protective Measures and Risk for SARS-CoV 2 Infection, Thailand |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |date=November 2020 |volume=26 |issue=11 |pages=2607–2616 |doi=10.3201/eid2611.203003|pmid=32931726 |pmc=7588529 |doi-access=free

Scientific Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 |url=cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=10 November 2020

Absence of Apparent Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Two Stylists After Exposure at a Hair Salon with a Universal Face Covering Policy – Springfield, Missouri, May 2020 |journal=MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |date=17 July 2020 |volume=69 |issue=28 |pages=930–932 |doi=10.15585/mmwr.mm6928e2|pmid=32673300 |doi-access=free

SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Serologic Responses from a Sample of U.S. Navy Service Members – USS Theodore Roosevelt, April 2020 |journal=MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |date=12 June 2020 |volume=69 |issue=23 |pages=714–721 |doi=10.15585/mmwr.mm6923e4|pmid=32525850 |pmc=7315794 |doi-access=free

Scientific Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 |url=cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=10 November 2020

responding to freemo...

1) Wearing a mask while staying at a distance significantly decreases the risk of infecting someone else with the virus.

2) By that same twisted logic: No one should prevent me from pointing a gun at people because they are 100% capable of protecting themselves by wearing kevlar body armor and other shielding to stop the bullets.

Also, the highest rated filters N100/P100 are not 100% even when they are brand new and worn properly (assuming you can find one from a reliable source). And there is not enough supply for everyone.

Assume a population infection rate of 2% (actual rate, not positive test rate). That's like placing fifty .22 pistols on a table with one of them loaded. So you are saying it is okay to pick up one of the pistols at random and point it in random directions while pulling the trigger. Chances are it's not loaded. And if it is, chances are you won't hit anybody and if you do hit someone, there's a good chance that a .22 is not going to kill them. Therefore it's okay to pull that trigger, it okay to not wear a mask near other people. That's absurd.

Regarding amorality. It's not amoral to compel another person to abstain from negligent actions that have potentially lethal consequences.

I have a
right to carry a , but I don't have a right to point that at anyone who is not threatening life or property.

Being near someone when you're not wearing a is like pointing a gun at them, but instead of shooting lead it shoots spit -- spit full of viruses. And none of us know for sure whether our gun is loaded or not.

You wouldn't point a gun at someone even if you knew it was unloaded. So why spray viruses at someone, even if you think it's safe?

-19 has put a gun in each of our hands whether we want it or not. When we breathe it's like pulling the trigger.

If someone approaches me without a mask, I consider that a lethal threat and I will respond accordingly and use only as much force as necessary to defend against that threat.

First I will try to escape. If I can't do that I will tell them to stop and let them know that they are threatening my life. After that, they have a choice -- they can back off or they can stop breathing.

Holster your weapon, wear a mask.

Darwin discovers toolmaking among primates

Darwin was surprised to find toolmaking among primates on the Galapagos Islands.

This short video taken by one of the sailors on board the HMS Beagle with his cell phone, shows Pepe, a capuchin monkey who was brought aboard the ship, making a tool as Darwin makes his profound discovery. (Darwin is on the left)

(Note: Most phones in the 19th century could only record black and white video with no sound.)

( full res video at:
video.qoto.org/videos/watch/ea )
-----------
= A statement that is logically or literally true (or partly true), but seems to imply something that isn't true or is just plain weird. (for rhetoric, logic or propaganda studies... or just for fun)

Can you spot the fallacy of this guy's (Caplan's) argument about the so called "vaccine passport"?

The fallacy is probably easy to spot but I can't figure out how to classify it. (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_)

(The release of this video does not violate national security law and is published here under the provisions of 17 U.S.C. § 107.)

Play video:
video.qoto.org/videos/embed/a2

-
=======================
populist: n. - a believer in the rights, wisdom, and virtues of the people.
=======================

In a previous toot I showed a segment from CSPAN that had the audio pitch lowered and it sounded funny and disturbing.

The problem was with my browser's user agent, which had been set to Windows and Chrome. (My browser is actually FireFox running on Linux) When I changed the user agent back, it fixed the problem.

This is what the video is supposed to sound like. (from the 2021/02/26 show)



(The release of this video does not violate national security law and is published here under the provisions of 17 U.S.C. § 107.)

Play Video: video.qoto.org/videos/embed/1a

Henry Kissinger is less boring when his voice is sped up...

...as interviewed by Charlie Rose in 2007.

(voice pitch +67%, speed +33%)

video.qoto.org/videos/embed/88

Another example of the problem of steaming audio pitch being shifted to an extremely low frequency from a completely different web source than my previous post. (I actually found several streaming sites that did this.)

Solution: The user agent in my browser had been changed to identify it as Win 7, Chrome. My browser is actually FireFox, Linux. (I had changed it in an attempt to get a misbehaving website to work and forgot to change it back.) The sites probably assumed I was using a different player or they used an incorrect audio codec.


(posted as plain text toot with attached image)

video controls:
<video width="560" height="315" controls> <source src="video.qoto.org/videos/embed/bf" type="video/mp4">
<source src="video.qoto.org/videos/embed/bf" type="video/ogg">
</video>

iframe embed:
<iframe width="560" height="315" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts" src="video.qoto.org/videos/embed/bf" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

naked video url:
video.qoto.org/videos/watch/bf

Funny yet disturbing CSPAN video player problem…

I tried to play today’s Washington Journal program at and found this , yet disturbing problem with the CSPAN video player 2021/02/26 – this is exactly how it played the video, I didn’t alter this in any way.

(The release of this video does not violate national security law and is published here under the provisions of 17 U.S.C. § 107.)



The Sounds of Mars

The Mars rover "Perseverance" has two microphones built into it.

Here are a series of six short sound segments from the NASA website "Sounds of Mars" at: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/sounds/

The fourth one sounds exactly like an ocean and may provide additional evidence for life on Mars.

-----------
= A statement that is logically or literally true (or mostly true), but seems to imply something that isn't true or is just plain weird. (for rhetoric, logic or propaganda studies... or just for fun)

<iframe width="560" height="315" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts" src="video.qoto.org/videos/embed/04" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Just two hours after the landing of the Perseverance rover on the planet, NASA believes they already have strong indications of life on Mars.

Congratulations to the folks at JPL and NASA for a successful landing of the Perseverance rover in the Jezero crater on Mars.

@rochelimit@mastodon.technology said "How did the US end up with a system in which there is no independent tribunal to judge a president's behaviour when their party decides that adhering to the law is for other people?"

Actually, when the American founders were writing the Constitutional impeachment clause, they were inspired by Cromwell, but instead of beheading the president, they only gave "parliament" the power to remove/disqualify a rogue leader.

Also, there were no political parties when they wrote the Constitution and they were actually more afraid of congress having too much power. They did not foresee a scenario where congress would rollover and abrogate their own authority.

Here are the consequences of the precedent that congress has set by acquitting in the impeachment trial....

Any president whose party holds at least 1/3 of the senate has absolute power to do anything he wants, up to and including insurrection without fear of being removed from office.

Therefore...

Biden now has absolute power. He can do anything he wants. He can ignore any court ruling. He can have anyone arrested. He can print up as much money as he needs. He doesn't even need congressional legislation anymore -- EO's have no limit now.

There is nobody left who can stop him.

Congress has just acquitted that bastard in the impeachment trial.

The message from congress is loud and clear..

"Violence is an acceptable means to pursue political ends."

(As long long as it's "peaceful" violence)

Hey, congress! FYI, Democrats own guns too.

Game on.

An ousted puppet leader attempts to seek exile in his sponsoring country…

(Note: The violence depicted in this video is intended to be interpreted metaphorically and symbolically. The publisher of this toot does not endorse or condone the initiation of violence in any way. The release of this video does not violate national security law and is published here under the provisions of 17 U.S.C. § 107.)

(Note #2: This is a retry of a previous toot to test using qoto video hosting.)

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