Tag: trainwreck

CNN+ Goes Down in Flames

The mainstream media is discovering that it’s not so easy to succeed when you can’t simply pretend that people are watching you.

CNN+, the streaming service that was hyped as one of the most significant developments in the history of CNN, will shut down on April 30, just one month after it launched.

CNN+ customers “will receive prorated refunds of subscription fees,” the company said. The decision was made by new management after CNN’s former parent company, WarnerMedia, merged with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this month. The prior management team’s vision for CNN+ runs counter to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s plan to house all of the company’s brands under one streaming service. Some CNN+ programming may eventually live on through that service. Other programming will shift to CNN’s main television network…

The decision to shut down CNN+ just weeks after it launched marked a stunning end to the streaming news service. Executives had touted the application as the most significant launch since Ted Turner founded CNN in 1980.

CNN had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the new streaming app and lured top talent from other networks for it, including Kasie Hunt from NBC and Chris Wallace from Fox News. The streaming service featured hours of daily live programming and weekly shows.

WarnerMedia also owns DC Comics, and it will not be at all surprising if the comics operation is shut down later this year, with a focus on exploiting the IP replacing the publication of any new comics that will threaten the value of the historical IP.

Fewer than 10,000 people are using CNN+ on a daily basis two weeks into its existence, according to people familiar with the matter.

More people read this blog than were using CNN+. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that UATV has more subscribers than CNN+ ever did.

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Poland Washes Its Hands

Poland does its best Pontius Pilate imitation and offers to hand over its MiG-29s to the USA:

Poland announced on Tuesday it was ready to hand all its MiG-29 fighter jets to the US, apparently as part of an arrangement to deliver the warplanes to Ukraine’s armed forces where they are desperately needed to fight off invading Russian forces.

The idea has been floating around for more than a week after Ukraine pleaded for more aircraft but the plan has been dogged by questions about how to deliver the planes to Ukrainian territory without dragging NATO into the conflict.

Tuesday’s announcement will be seen as a Polish effort to force the US and NATO to go further in backing the Ukrainian fight.

‘The authorities of the Republic of Poland, after consultations between the president and the government, are ready to deploy – immediately and free of charge – all their MIG-29 jets to the Ramstein Air Base and place them at the disposal of the government of the United States of America,’ said the Polish foreign ministry.

Poland is believed to have 28 MiG-29s – a Soviet-era fighter flown by the Ukrainian air force – although not all are airworthy.

If the situation weren’t so serious, it would be amusing to watch all the word games and verbal legerdemain in which countries like Germany, Poland, and Switzerland are foolishly engaging. They keep acting as if their transparent anti-Russian actions won’t be held against them as long as there is some sort of legal cloak that permits them to claim that they’re not doing what they are observably doing.

Russia is quite clearly a “spirit of the law” player, so all of these legalistic maneuverings are totally pointless. Especially since an attack by US aircraft from a US airbase in Germany on Russian forces would be a declaration of war by NATO for which all NATO members could be held accountable.

This is really just a polite way of saying no. If Poland had been serious about getting the MiGs to the Ukrainians, they would have offered them to the UK, because the current Johnson regime is dumb enough to try to play stupid games like this.

UPDATE: Neither the USA nor NATO appear to be eager to give Russia an obvious justification for attacking NATO forces in Eastern Europe. This tends to suggest that neither Finland nor Sweden will be permitted to join NATO if they are foolish enough to apply.

The Pentagon has poured cold water on Poland’s offer to hand all its MiG-29 fighter jets to the US, apparently as part of an arrangement to deliver the warplanes to Ukraine’s armed forces where they are desperately needed to fight off invading Russian forces.

The idea has been floating around for more than a week after Ukraine pleaded for more aircraft but the plan has been dogged by questions about how to deliver the planes to Ukrainian territory without dragging NATO into the conflict.

But Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said on Tuesday night the deal was unworkable and would cause serious concerns for the ‘entire NATO alliance’.

Russia has made clear that it will consider any use by Ukraine of neighboring country’s territory as a ‘casus belli,’ or justification for attack. That means Ukrainian pilots taking off from Poland or Germany in the MiGs would cross a Russian red line. Asking Polish pilots to fly them in would also be viewed by Russia as NATO entering the conflict.

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Biologists REALLY Don’t Get Math

A follower of JFG tries to defend him. It doesn’t go well.

He clarifies his position on jfgtonight regarding the model used by vox is based on bacterial cloning and doesn’t address that a population with sexual reproduction where replacement values are above 2.

This is simply embarrassing, though not particularly surprising given the fact that it required no less than three tries for JFG to understand that a 115 IQ for a substantial portion of the Jewish population of Israel necessarily dictated a sub-90 IQ for the rest of the Jewish population, given the reported average Israeli IQ.

This is the sort of thing that happens when people are incapable of understanding basic math without being walked carefully through all the relevant numbers involved.

What JFG is claiming in his clarification is that because sexual reproduction CAN result in faster gene fixation than bacterial cloning when measured in terms of generations, it is possible for the fixation rate to be high enough to account for genetic divergence between chimps and humans since the LCHCA, as well as every other observed genetic divergence over time.

However, this is not true. What JFG and his followers forgot to take into account is that it is not generations that are relevant here, but time. And although bacterial cloning may – or may not – be slower to fixate a gene across a population than sexual reproduction in generational terms, bacteria also have considerably more generations over a given period of time than humans do.

To use the two specific examples I cited, the bacteria was observed to have 14,016 generations per year. Primates have 0.05 generations per year. And fixation through sexual reproduction is not, and has never been, observed to be more than 280,320 times faster in temporal terms than fixation through bacterial cloning.

I used the bacterial model in order to demonstrate that the case for natural selection was impossible even when applying the fastest possible fixation rates ever observed. So, my argument absolutely did cover the situation of a population with sexual reproduction where replacement values are above 2, because there is absolutely no case where a sexually reproducing mammal will fixate a gene across its population in less time than a bacterial population.

So, you will note that JFG not only failed to refute my argument, he observably failed to even understand it or the relevant math required.

UPDATE: He really, truly, honestly doesn’t get it.

This is a complex question and there will not be a single number. It will be dependent on what is defined as fixation (is a gene similar across 99.99% of humans fixated or not?). It will also depend on what we do with genes that could have been fixated to be different from the common ancestor but then reverted back to their common ancestor form in our evolutionary history. Does that count for 0 or 2 fixation events? The number will also vary depending on how we count similar fixation events that have happened parallelly in the two species. I’m not raising these concerns to avoid answering the question, just pointing to the fact that this number is not unique according to how we approach the problem.

With all that being said, none of my argument relies on this number being a particular value, so sure, let us accept an average of 2.22 fixed mutations per year on average for the purpose of discussion… now what?

The problem of @voxday’s thesis is not that we disagree on this number. It is that @voxday’s calculations fail to take into account the higher rate of fixation in sexual species such as humans compared to non-sexual ones such as bacteria. Meiosis is a bitch.

Now what? Darwin is done. Evolution is done. Natural Selection is done and comprehensively dusted. That’s what.

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I Told You Joe Rogan was Soft

I also told you he was never a real fighter, and he just proved it again today:

“I’m making this video to talk about the most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly. There’s a video that’s out that’s a compilation of me saying the N-word. It’s a video that’s made of clips taken out of context of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast, and it’s all smushed together. And it looks f—ing horrible, even to me,” Rogan said, via Fox Business’ Melissa Roberto.

While Rogan maintains that the use of the term directed at African Americans has always been in the context of utility over intentionality and without racist sentiment, he stated in the apology video that he was “put off” by how the word sounded and felt a sense of ownership.

“For years I used it in that manner. I never used it to be racist because I am not racist, but whenever you’re in a situation where you have to say ‘I’m not racist,’ you f—ed up, and I clearly have f—ed up and that’s my intention to express myself in this video and say, there’s nothing I can do to take that back. I wish I could. Obviously, that’s not possible. I do hope that, if anything, that this can be a teachable moment.”

La, the shame! The horrible, horrible shame of blaspheming against the Holy Race!

Well, now that he’s apologized, I’m sure that will stop all of the SJWs from calling from his head. Right? I mean, he’s admitted it and apologized, so it’s all good now, right?

Media figures are just embarrassingly stupid. When will people learn to stop paying any attention to them?

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The Vaxx Nazis Back Down

Germany “delays” its vaccine mandate:

Germany’s plans to impose nationwide compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 likely won’t come to fruition any time soon, not due to lack of will but because of bureaucratic hurdles, media reports suggest.

In November, then-designated chancellor Olaf Scholz told Germany’s ZDF broadcaster that he expected a nationwide vaccination mandate to be introduced by February or March. Now, however, the regulation might not be in force until May or even June, the Tagesspiegel daily reported.

The delay is not a sign that Scholz’s government is any less determined to see Germans vaccinated but is merely due to a series of bureaucratic hurdles, the paper said.

These vaccine mandates are not going to be imposed or enforced. Mostly, I suspect, because the politicians want to live. They push-push-pushed to discover where the hard red lines were drawn, and they have ascertained that there are hundreds of millions of people who will quite literally kill anyone who tries to forcibly vaccinate them. And they are right to take that position, as both bodily integrity and self-defense are basic human rights that any self-respecting human being will defend at any cost.

I think the people of Europe have shown remarkable restraint to date in not turning on their idiot leaders. But it’s not early 2020 anymore and now everyone with even half-a-brain recognizes that the vaxxes are unsafe, ineffective, and unnecessary.

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Our Fingers Were Crossed!

The US Secretary of State is attempting to play revisionist talmudics in order to justify the NATO expansion that has both Russia and China on a war footing:

NATO has never promised not to admit new members, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed on Friday, labelling Russia’s demands of the bloc inadmissible. However, long-declassified Western documents suggest otherwise.

“NATO never promised not to admit new members,” the top American diplomat told journalists during Friday’s press briefing, as he commented on Moscow’s proposals to the bloc on security guarantees, ahead of upcoming NATO-Russia meetings next week.

“It could not and would not – the ‘open door policy’ was a core provision of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty that founded NATO,” Blinken added. He then pointed to the fact that both Mikhail Gorbachev – the Soviet leader who’d allegedly received the guarantees of non-expansion from the Western leaders – and the former US Secretary of State James Baker, who allegedly provided them, among others – denied anything like that ever happened.

“There was no promise that NATO wouldn’t expand,” Blinken concluded, adding that, instead, Moscow had itself recognized every European nation’s right to choose its own path in the field of security by joining the Istanbul Charter for European Security in 1999.

Such a position has apparently become commonplace in the bloc after Moscow came up with a set of proposals that it said would alleviate current tensions between Russia and the collective West. The proposals would see the Brussels-based organisation agree to curb its territorial growth as a form of a security guarantee for Russia.

After the proposals were presented to NATO in December 2021, its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also stated that the bloc had never promised not to expand. Yet, a trove of documents, made public as early as in 2017, suggests that it did.

Russia Today

This is a remarkably stupid game the Fake Biden administration is playing. The neocons are attempting to utilize juvenile narrative-shaping tactics in a world of hardened diplomats and generals who couldn’t care less what a few lawyers assumed back in 1949. It appears the neocons are about to discover that their lawyerly verbal tactics don’t work on people who, unlike Americans and Europeans, are not high-trusting children.

It’s the usual bait-and-switch offered by a deceiver. Even if NATO never made any formal promises not to expand, the leaders of every major Western country at the time promised that NATO would not expand to the EAST, i.e. in the direction of Russia. Which NATO subsequently did after 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union that was the raison d’etre for its existence. If Vladimir Putin were to reassure the world that Russia will not attack NATO, just all of the countries that violated their past assurances to Russia, would anyone find that comforting?

The neocons would do very well to recall that the Russians have never promised not to nuke New York or Jerusalem. The Chinese have never promised not to genocide Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Neither the wisdom nor the rightness of an action relies upon the fact that one has never promised not to do it. The balance of power rests upon capabilities, not contracts. And Russia has promised that it will never permit NATO to reach its borders.

In addition to never promising not to invade Taiwan, China has repeatedly vowed to unify the island with the mainland. Would the US Secretary of State argue that China therefore has a right to do so? Because under his own logic, China has a stronger argument than the one he is presenting in favor of NATO expansion.

UPDATE: Yes, China knows exactly what’s happening in Kazakhstan and who is responsible.

China can offer support in the fields of economic cooperation and assistance, as well as counter-terrorism, to help neighboring Kazakhstan restore stability and realize effective reforms and long-term economic development, according to Chinese analysts, as Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the government thanked Russia and China, as well as other leaders worldwide and heads of international organizations for support offered to the country amid domestic unrest. The situation in Kazakhstan has the clear characteristics of a “color revolution” and the involvement of foreign forces and the “Three Devils” (terrorism, religious extremism and separatism), said Chinese analysts.

China, Xi said, firmly opposes any force undermining Kazakhstan’s stability, threatening the country’s security, and sabotaging the peaceful lives of the Kazakh people. China also strongly rejects any attempt by external forces to provoke unrest and instigate “color revolution” in Kazakhstan, as well as any attempt to harm the friendship between China and Kazakhstan and disrupt the two countries’ cooperation. And, China is ready to provide necessary support to help Kazakhstan overcome the difficulties.

Global Times

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No. A Thousand Times No

Ted Cruz thinks people have forgotten his treacherous, self-immolating performance at the 2020 Republican convention. But we haven’t.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he would “absolutely” consider running for president in 2024, arguing he was in a good position to win the race because he was the runner-up for the Republican nomination in 2016.

“Absolutely. In a heartbeat,” Cruz told The Truth Gazette on Wednesday when asked whether he would consider a run in 2024. “There’s a reason historically that the runner-up is almost always the next nominee.”

Looks like we’ll need to update the meme. DISCUSS ON SG

If At First You Don’t Succeed

Jab and jab again!

Britain is considering giving out fourth Covid vaccines in a bid to stop the surge of Omicron cases, following the lead of Germany and Israel.

The rollout of a second set of boosters is being examined by experts on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). They will weigh up the levels of immunity granted by the extra jab as well as hospitalisation figures, The Telegraph reported.

Those with weakened immune systems are already entitled to a fourth jab but the elderly and other vulnerable groups could soon be included. The fourth jab would likely come four months after the third if it gets the green light and could be available in the new year.

Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chair of the JCVI, said: ‘We need to see more data. We are in different circumstances to Israel and we need to see more data on waning immunity and vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation.’ An Israeli health expert, who is sharing findings with the UK, said they are already seeing waning immunity from the third jab, prompting the extra round of vaccinations.

What sort of “safe and effective” vaccine needs to be injected four times in a single calendar year in order to not prevent people from being infected with the disease being “prevented”? If, at this point, you submit to a FOURTH injection, you’re officially retarded. And that’s without even taking into account the subsequent effects of the vaccine-caused microclotting on your brain.

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Zuck and Fauci Discuss VEI

Not only is the tide turning, it appears the vaccine narrative may be on the verge of being turned on its head, as Anthony Fauci appears to be going into CYA mode.

Dr. Fauci opens up the possibility that the COVID-19 vaccine could be making people more likely to be infected by the virus. “This would not be the first time, if it happened, that a vaccine that looked good in initial safety actually made people worse. There was the history of the respiratory syncytial vaccine in children, which paradoxically made the children worse. One of the HIV vaccines that we tested some years ago actually made individuals more likely to get infected.”

No, it wouldn’t be the first time. The problem is that this was always the most likely outcome for the mRNA pseudo-vaccines on the basis of the animal testing that resulted in serious Antibody-Dependent Enhancement and Vaccine-Enhanced Infection.

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VEI Confirmed in Israel

Karl Denninger runs the numbers and reaches a firm conclusion about the statistical results. Keep in mind that this does not take any adverse effects into account, it’s merely about the relationship between the vaccines and Covid itself:

If you were infected and recovered your risk of a severe outcome, if you got infected, was 0.18% under 39, 1.1% if 40-59 and 7.8% if you were over 60. This doesn’t sound very good for the old people, does it?

Ah, but if you were vaccinated and boosted (best case, right?) what were the odds if you got infected?

0.1% if under 39 (too few events for good statistical power; there was only one), 0.6% if 40-59 (looks pretty good) but 6.2% if over 60. In other words even if boosted the infection rate that went sour on you if you’re old means the jabs are basically worthless compared against prior infection.

And if just vaccinated but not boosted? Comparatively you’re ****ed, right? Or are you?

Uh, for 16-39 your risk there was 0.05% (!!!), for 40-59 it was 0.6% (!!) and for 60+ it was 8.1%.

In other words among infections that matter being boosted had negative or no efficiency when it comes to severe outcomes for everyone under 60!

What if you got jabbed after being infected? This is data I’ve been looking for, and while the data points are thin and thus I’m not happy with the lack of statistical power, well, read it for yourself. Under 40 the risk of severe reinfection was 0.2%, from 40-59 it was 2.4% and for 60+ it was a stunning 10%.

IN OTHER WORDS BEING JABBED AFTER RECOVERING INCREASES YOUR RISK OF A SEVERE OUTCOME.

For the other way around, where you got jabbed and then got infected, there were too few events except in one cohort, 60+, to draw good conclusions as there were lots of zeros — but small infection counts. However, the news there isn’t good either in that in the 60+ cohort the severe risk if you got infected was 12.5% (!!!)

Ok, ok you say, but being vaccinated drops the infection risk. Indeed. But it drops it less, except in the 0-2 months since jabbed, than being recovered does. Indeed the loss of immunity from vaccination is nearly linear while for those infected the loss appears to taper significantly after the first six months and residual protection may be of very long duration or even permanent.

Indeed, someone who has been infected (but not jabbed) has a lower person-day risk of reinfection by more than half at one year post-event than someone who has been vaccinated has at four to six months.

The bad news does not end here. While being jabbed after recovery is claimed to produce “superior” results (“hybrid immunity”) the data says that’s flat-out bull****. At 4-6 and 6-8 months the error bands for vaccination after recovery and pure recovery without it cross; there is no statistical evidence that being jabbed after recovery helps and evidence it HARMS BY AS MUCH AS A DOUBLE in terms of the risk of severe outcome.

The other way around is even worse; the evidence is that if you get infected after being jabbed you do not get the same protection as natural infection in that your immunity wanes faster; at 6-8 months you have a LOWER risk of infection if you were not vaccinated before the infection as opposed to being vaccinated and then infected.

In other words this data provides direct evidence of VEI.

It’s official. A study with a sample size much larger than any of the pre-approval studies has clearly demonstrated that the Covid vaccines are officially worse than useless. True, it’s not a proper double-blind study, but then, neither were the pre-approval studies that were tainted by the vaccination of the control group.

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