1,861 (edited by ireactions 2021-04-03 09:35:55)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

In a hilarious turn of events, our old friend Kyle tweeted Michelle Paradise (executive producer of STAR TREK DISCOVERY) when she posted a trailer for upcoming TREK shows. Kyle told her that what she was producing wasn't STAR TREK and didn't count as STAR TREK. Pretty much all of Kyle's tweets are replies to celebrities lambasting them for feminism or anti-racism -- or replies to Hollywood creators telling them their content isn't truly part of whatever franchise they're working on.

Most of these tend to be ignored, but this time, Kyle got 13 responses from STAR TREK fans telling him he was not STAR TREK's gatekeeper.

Kyle later encouraged people to harass women entering abortion clinics saying that to do so was to protect unborn children. He got two responses asking him if he would station himself outside vasectomy clinics to protest or try to stop men from getting vasectomies -- which I concede doesn't address Kyle's belief that life begins at conception.

Apparently, these 15 responses were too much for him; Kyle set his account to "protected" which means only followers he approves can see his tweets -- but it also means that his replies to celebrities and Hollywood creators will not be seen because none of them follow him. In addition, few of the major alt-right media personalities whom he follows can see his support and encouragement because few of them follow him either. His requests for the coffee and baking recipes of alt-right figures were previously ignored, now they will go unseen.

Before, there was a minute chance that people might spot one of Kyle's various insults and personal attacks as they scrolled through several thousand responses from fans. Now, they can't see Kyle's messages at all. And from now on, only 95 people will be able to read Kyle's messages opposing vaccination and masks.

To quote a great American: "A self-own! Those are rare."

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

That's all very sad.  I liked interacting with Informant, and I wish all of this hadn't changed everything.  Even in Texas, I don't know very many conservatives and haven't lost any friends due to politics.  My friend's mom is into Q but that's probably the closest thing.

I'm glad your mom is set for the shot.  And we'd be happy to have you smile

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I admit that it is rather sad to think of Kyle tweeting madly at STAR TREK producers not realizing that his posts have gone from being buried in a sea of comments to being totally invisible. But Kyle has unfortunately crossed a line.

Tracy Torme, as I wrote above, is clearly not on the same end of the political spectrum as I am. But Tracy Torme, regardless of who he votes for or criticizes politically -- he wears a mask and advises that others do the same. Kyle brags that he does not wear a mask and encourages people to get sick and die. Torme, regardless of what alt-right/right-wing podcasts he appears on, knows from his pandemic research for I AM LEGEND that he must get vaccinated. Kyle declares that vaccination is posturing self-poisoning. This is not just a difference of opinion; these are willful falsehoods that could get people killed. For all my faults and failings -- and for all of Torme's -- we would never allow our actions or statements to encourage people to physically hurt themselves or others.

I'm so relieved that Slider_Quinn21 is getting vaccinated and that the vaccine is so readily available in the States. Here in Canada, my mother got her first shot, but we simply don't have the manufacturing capacity to do as well as America in distribution. In addition, my province has started making some terrible, terrible moves. The premier (think a state governor) keeps declaring 'lockdowns' -- but the only lockdowns are for shops, restaurants, hair salons -- and that simply isn't where the cases are coming.

The majority of the infections are in offices, call centres, construction, warehouses, manufacturing plants, food processing. The majority of the infected are people who don't get paid sick days and have no ability to stay at home, so they go to work, get infected, spread the infection and end up in the intensive care units which are filled to bursting. But the premier won't lock down construction and big business because that's where most of his voters and financial supporters exist.

In addition, this rampant spread has caused rampant viral mutation and our vaccine distribution isn't enough to outrun it. At this point, the province will, rather than lock down the industries that have the highest transmission rates, pass laws declaring that doctors will not be liable if they withhold medical resources from deathly ill patients in favour of caring for patients who have a better chance of being saved.

Canada has always defined itself as being not as bad as the United States. But now, the United States has some capacity to manufacture vaccines and Canada has none whatsoever and is relying on imports. Canada also has Justin Trudeau. He is a sweet, pleasant, Quinn Mallory-esque prime minister (think president) who can't seem to go six months without some self-inflicted screwup of his own making (much like Quinn).

In contrast, President Joe Biden seems to have learned not to trip over his own feet (aside from that moment in December 2020 where he broke his foot playing tug of war with his dog).

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

I admit that it is rather sad to think of Kyle tweeting madly at STAR TREK producers not realizing that his posts have gone from being buried in a sea of comments to being totally invisible. But Kyle has unfortunately crossed a line.

Tracy Torme, as I wrote above, is clearly not on the same end of the political spectrum as I am. But Tracy Torme, regardless of who he votes for or criticizes politically -- he wears a mask and advises that others do the same. Kyle brags that he does not wear a mask and encourages people to get sick and die. Torme, regardless of what alt-right/right-wing podcasts he appears on, knows from his pandemic research for I AM LEGEND that he must get vaccinated. Kyle declares that vaccination is posturing self-poisoning. This is not just a difference of opinion; these are willful falsehoods that could get people killed. For all my faults and failings -- and for all of Torme's -- we would never allow our actions or statements to encourage people to physically hurt themselves or others.

I'm so relieved that Slider_Quinn21 is getting vaccinated and that the vaccine is so readily available in the States. Here in Canada, my mother got her first shot, but we simply don't have the manufacturing capacity to do as well as America in distribution. In addition, my province has started making some terrible, terrible moves. The premier (think a state governor) keeps declaring 'lockdowns' -- but the only lockdowns are for shops, restaurants, hair salons -- and that simply isn't where the cases are coming.

The majority of the infections are in offices, call centres, construction, warehouses, manufacturing plants, food processing. The majority of the infected are people who don't get paid sick days and have no ability to stay at home, so they go to work, get infected, spread the infection and end up in the intensive care units which are filled to bursting. But the premier won't lock down construction and big business because that's where most of his voters and financial supporters exist.

In addition, this rampant spread has caused rampant viral mutation and our vaccine distribution isn't enough to outrun it. At this point, the province will, rather than lock down the industries that have the highest transmission rates, pass laws declaring that doctors will not be liable if they withhold medical resources from deathly ill patients in favour of caring for patients who have a better chance of being saved.

Canada has always defined itself as being not as bad as the United States. But now, the United States has some capacity to manufacture vaccines and Canada has none whatsoever and is relying on imports. Canada also has Justin Trudeau. He is a sweet, pleasant, Quinn Mallory-esque prime minister (think president) who can't seem to go six months without some self-inflicted screwup of his own making (much like Quinn).

In contrast, President Joe Biden seems to have learned not to trip over his own feet (aside from that moment in December 2020 where he broke his foot playing tug of war with his dog).

It's been sad to see Canadians having to deal with a much greater lag than Americans on vaccines.  Obviously our cultures are very intertwined.  But I guess it's the same or less worse with Mexico in terms of lag (and yet i dont ever think that -- shame on me).

America is doing fairly well on vacinnations but I am not sure Americans  appreciate that what happens in other nations, especially bordering countries, is gonna impact America.  All the mutations that are allowed to happen, it will continue to be a problem for America.  So it's in America's best interest to worry about the rate of vaccination in neighboring countries.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Have you gotten your shots, Brad? Please say that you have or that you will and that would eliminate 1.25 per cent of the stress in my life.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I finally found the perfect mask for my mother: the Kleannara KF94, purchased from the highly prestigious and exclusive supplier that is the Korean grocery store down the street. Earlier, I'd tried KF94 masks on her (a boat style shaped mask), but they still left gaps around her nose just like the KN95 and N95 masks and even larger than the gaps left by a surgical mask (which had smaller gaps than the rest and a larger surface area to compensate). However, the KF94 masks I'd tried before were manufactured in Canada and they had a wider curve for the nosepiece.

The authentic KF94 masks I've found have a much narrower curve for the nose piece that wraps around my mother's face firmly leaving no gap at all. This is the one! Yes! Yes! Yes! And the Kleannara has been reviewed by mask expert tester Aaron Collins who found it to have a 98 per cent level of particle filtration so it's even better than advertised.

Funnily enough -- I've been buying my KN95 masks at a Canadian dollar store, Dollarama, and always had some fears that their supply might not be made to any decent standards. A lot of KN95 masks don't make the 95 per cent filtration grade. I ultimately switched to a Canadian-made InnoLifeCare mask that has a KF94 shape but uses their own filter design that was lab tested to a 98 percent level of particle filtration and also highly fluid resistant -- which isn't important for civilians except the water resistant material also resists wear and tear.

Recently, the CBC news channel reviewed KN95 masks from various retailers. Amazon and Home Depot and WalMart masks were all filtering a lot less than 95 per cent of particles. Amazon's masks ranged from 20 - 95 per cent, WalMart's masks filtered 75 per cent, Home Depot was at 93 - 94 per cent -- and Dollarama's masks (of which I have 25) ranged from 95 - 98 per cent.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

The vaccines may wind up being largely ineffective due to dramatic hesitancy/refusal mainly in MAGA-ville, but also heavily in the Deep South among all residents.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I haven't been vacinnated yet.  It's still early for folks in my age bracket.  But America is making a lot of progress.  4m in one day the other day.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I got vaccinated early since I am a live-in caretaker for my elderly mother.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

https://i.ibb.co/gJwqbhP/dejoy-disaster.jpg

Late reply, but often this happens in customs, they open to make sure item is what it's supposed to be.  They're supposed to repackage it but well......

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

I was listening to Tracy Torme's January 2021 Dark Matters podcast and he had some interesting political views.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/kgra/dmr0 … io-tracy-t

Dark Matters podcast has completely vanished from the internet!  I can't find the mp3's anywhere.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Hmm. I wonder why.

I can report that I too got my first dose of vaccine today. Because I discourage vaccine shopping, I won't specify which one, but yes.  I had some qualifying factors that I also won't put in writing to discourage misuse. I will say that vaccine hunting is really hard in Canada right now because we have no domestic production and it was a lot of work to get myself a shot and get booked for a second dose in four months.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I don't feel good about getting vaccinated -- I'm very young, far younger than the threshold. I was reluctant to do it, but I spoke with two medical doctors who informed me: the city has run out of beds in the intensive care unit. New patients will have their medical data inputted into an app to determine whether or not their chances of survival make them candidates for any medical resources from an overstretched system that is about to break.

Both doctors told me that if I had any point of eligibility to be vaccinated, I had to take it because a COVID-19 infection would take not only me, but my mother and sisters as well and potentially put us all in hospitals that are currently treating patients in tents in parking lots because they've run out of indoor space.

Getting vaccinated was extremely hard work that involved being turned away repeatedly over and over again until someone finally didn't turn me away and I've decided to put that same amount of effort into getting other people their first dose.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Very busy vaccine hunting for people.

THE FLASH: "Here's the thing. See, I'm afraid of bugs, and guns, and obnoxiously tall people, and murder. I can't be here! It's really cool, you guys seem ready to do battle and stuff, but, full transparency, I've never done battle. I've just pushed some people and run away!"

BATMAN: "Save one."

THE FLASH: "What?"

BATMAN: "Save one person."

THE FLASH: "Uh -- which one?"

BATMAN: "Don't talk. Don't fight. Get in. Get one out."

THE FLASH: "And -- and then?"

BATMAN: "You'll know."

THE FLASH: "Okay."

Due to technical limitations, I have to choose one person to help. I have chosen one specific person. (It's not my niece.) This woman is... well, I can tell you that she is married (not to me) and has children (not with me) and... well, imagine Kyle. Keep his pop cultural obsessions. Reverse absolutely everything else. That's who this woman is.

Batman wrote:

Superman could have brought this team together better than I ever could. His strength is that he’s more human than I am. He lived in this world, fell in love. got a job -- in spite of all that power. The world needs Superman. And the team needs Clark.

I'll never put another penny in Whedon's pocket for his evil, but... yes.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

From MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT

BENJY: "Did we get it?"

ETHAN: "Of course we got it."

BENJY: "Told you we'd get it."

I have always envied this level of certainty. I don't have this kind of confidence. The most I can say is that I will extend every possible effort and even go so far as to convince my employers that vaccine hunting for colleagues counts as appropriate use of workplace time and resources. That doesn't mean I actually think I would succeed; it's more that vaccine hunting is less stressful for someone who has already gotten his first shot and is booked for his second.

From GO CHUCK YOURSELF podcast:

ERIN: " ... I just mean, are the characters on CHUCK really the 'best' spies and the 'best' spy team? Because they screw up a LOT."

CHRIS: "Yeah, but they always win in the end."

ERIN: "Only after nearly losing."

CHRIS: "Erin! What are winners but people who nearly lost?"

ERIN: "Yeah, okay, that's a good point."

Anyway. Vaccine hunting was successful in every sense. Now it's time to resume what life is really all about -- obsessing over a TV show from 1995 when not obsessing over work.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

TemporalFlux wrote:

The latest video making the rounds is linked below.  I will preface this by saying that I do not believe this man is a prophet.  I think he’s fairly well read and informed, and his dreams are his subconscious unpacking the information he’s collected into his personal logical conclusions.

https://444prophecynews.com/brace-yours … overstone/

Hadn’t thought about this in awhile, but it clicked for some reason this morning.  Near the end of his dream, he said he saw Washington on fire and Trump was nowhere to be seen.  Sound familiar?

https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/capitol-smoke-rt-ps-210106_1609971925753_hpMain_4x3_384.jpg

Trump told the crowd he would be there with them; but he was nowhere to be seen.

It’s just interesting seeing how this dream did hit on some things that were fairly specific.  Of course, the human mind can play tricks.  The reason that conspiracy theories are attractive is because the brain starts tying all sorts of things together to force a thought to work.  It’s a slippery slope.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I agree.

I was recently half-watching an episode of MACGYVER where MacGyver has to stop a runaway drone that is (a) heavily armed (b) under the control of an unknown terrorist and (c) speeding towards Washington DC to blow it up. It occurred to me that if Trumpists watched this episode, they of course would be cheering on the drone and hoping that MacGyver would fail to stop it.

To be fair, I was recently watching THE FALCON AND WINTER SOLDER and finding the supposed villain of the story, a woman stealing medical supplies and food for refugee camps, far more sympathetic than the Falcon and the Winter Soldier trying to stop her and found it forced and clumsy for the series to make this woman a murderous, violent thug to prevent her goals from being sympathetic. Politics!

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Interesting news here in Canada. My mother's second dose of vaccine was originally booked for end of July; now it's been moved to 48 hours from now. My second dose was booked for the second week of August; now it's going to be in seven days' time.

I hope this annoys an anti-vaxxer somewhere out there.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Haha, I'm sure it will!

Congrats on being booked for second doses. Glad to see everyone doing their part. Only got my first dose about a month ago so it will be a while for me.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I had my second dose on Tuesday morning and experienced every flu symptom side effect possible and effectively lost a week of my life (and spent most of it watching MACGYVER). Still. I hope it bothers that anti-vaxxer I know.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Sorry to hear that it made you sick. But I hope you still feel good knowing you got it and will be more protected against the virus.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

This is why you get vaccinated...

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/only-per … 19627.html

6 cases in one department, 5 sick, 4 hospitalized, 2 dead, all unvaccinated.  One person unscathed, was vaccinated.  It's Florida so no mask requirement for unvaccinated despite 700 people working in the building.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I talked to a doctor in April. I had the paperwork to get vaccinated well ahead of my age group, but I wasn't sure if it were appropriate to do so. The doctor told me that every COVID-19 case was a strain on an already breaking medical system; that if I could get vaccinated and chose not to, I would risk becoming infected and would then add to that strain and conceivably infect others who would also lead to overwhelming the city's health care system. Vaccines don't just protect you, they protect those around you and prevent hospitals from running out of beds and staff and resources.

That said, I had a family member who snarled at me repeatedly for daring to get vaccinated against a deadly disease as early as possible, apparently feeling that for her approval, I should get vaccinated as late as possible. I decided to stop worrying about whether or not this person thought well of me or not, but I did throw myself into finding vaccine appointments for others.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

I had my second dose on Tuesday morning and experienced every flu symptom side effect possible and effectively lost a week of my life (and spent most of it watching MACGYVER). Still. I hope it bothers that anti-vaxxer I know.

Really behind but really glad you got your shot and feel better now.  I have a friend of mine who hasn't gotten the shot.  He's not a Trump guy but his mom is.  She's a borderline QAnon type.  I know my friend didn't vote in 2020 out of deference to not making her too mad (and in Texas it wouldn't have mattered, it turns out).  It upsets me that he's not doing it.  I know if he got the virus the odds are really high that he'd survive.  And, heck, it's possible he already had it and was fine.

But I just think it's so stupid to just not get it.  Get it and don't tell his mom.  He's too rational to really believe that there's anything to fear from the vaccine, but maybe he sees the stats and thinks it's enough.  I don't know.  I want to tell him he's being an idiot, but it's so hard to maintain friendships during this pandemic.  I've been terrible at it, as you all have seen smile

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environ … s-n1272938

Completely insane Bitcoin mining.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Grizzlor wrote:

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environ … s-n1272938

Completely insane Bitcoin mining.

crazy...

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I don’t understand much about Bitcoin, but it seems pretty dumb.  You set up computers to run complex algorithms in search of an answer which rewards you pieces of coins or something?  It’s basically useless busy work that translates to money?

I remember the idea of lending your idle processing power to help sift through SETI data or the like.  At least that had some value!  But Bitcoin mining seems pointless.

Anyway, never bought a Bitcoin and have no plans to.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Me neither! I think the whole thing sounds very shady!

JWSlider3

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I have been cautiously staying neutral on the entire subject of Bitcoin, careful not to weigh in until Temporal Flux said something about it. Now I'm going to side with him unless new information arises.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Bitcoin is a great idea but some people think it will be used for money in the future and it almost certainly will not. Gold equivalent perhaps. The transaction speeds are so slow and the fees to create a transaction are too high. It some cases it's the current software developers fault in another case it was technically flawed to begin with. It uses POW Proof of Work aka mining, all the while there are faster and more energy efficient systems emerging called POS Proof of Stake.

slidecage.com
Twitter @slidersfanblog
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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Blockchain tech is interesting, but its greatest value will ultimately come in other kinds of software

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Really, the only reason anything has value is because enough people believe it has value.  It’s all based on confidence.

Gold has value because it’s rare, it’s pretty and it’s physical - things that made it a symbol of power.  In the modern age, it also has usefulness in the physical ability to make technology work.

Paper money (like the US Dollar) had value initially because people had faith that the US government had enough gold (i.e. Fort Knox) to back up the dollar’s value.  In modern times, the dollar was unpegged from gold and took on a floating value.  But again, that value is backed by the full faith and credit of the US government (realistically based on perception of military might, industrial complex, alliances, etc).  Basically, the world believes the US is “good for it” (a belief that is eroding).

And now we have Bitcoin.  Can it have value?  Certainly - if enough people believe it does.  My concern is that I can’t see what’s backing it up.  All it seems to be is an exercise in how much electricity you can pump through a computer to do useless work.

I think people are more drawn to the idea of Bitcoin being a one world currency that governments can’t devalue through their action or inaction.  The worth of Bitcoin seems to be more as an aspirational philosophy; and that’s just not enough for me to believe in as a way to buy and sell goods and services.  I believe the value of Bitcoin is something as whimsical as the hippie movement (which largely faded from history and lost most of what faith it had).

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Don't they also say that there's already a maximum quantity of Bitcoin already achieved?  And that if you die, like that millionaire did, you can't inherit it? 

I look at cryptocurrency these days like the old video game crash of 1983.  Atari was king, and suddenly dozens of companies jumped into the fad, and flooded the market.  The market then crashed, taking most of those companies down permanently.  We've started to have all these Bitcoin copycats start up, and huge market swings, such as when Elon Musk made a couple tweets.  The value dropped like an anvil off a cliff.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

There's only like 2 million left to be mined out of 21 million. Which really causes another problem imo. Bitcoin has been so unevenly distributed to the world. Essentially 1 -2% of the world has Bitcoins I'm guessing, making the other 99% left out which makes no sense as a currency.

Yeah if a bitcoin millionaire died no one could recover his coins unless you had his password which is a private key/mnemonic seed. It's like having money in the bank but if no one knows your password there's literally nothing no one can do to recover it. Which tends to cause another problem with custody. How many people nowadays can responsibly take control of their own money. I'd say there's few. Everyone is always 'losing' paperwork or forgetting their password. However I think banks are slowly trying to integrate custody of cryptocurrency for customers, which is essentially an oxymoron to the concept of Bitcoin and decentralization.

slidecage.com
Twitter @slidersfanblog
Instagram slidersfanblog

1,895 (edited by Grizzlor 2021-08-10 13:44:58)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

https://www.yahoo.com/news/delta-varian … 37283.html

Interesting, the UK are seriously considering dropping mass testing.  Essentially, their point is that herd immunity is no longer achievable or would even do much.  They feel COVID is endemic, continually vaccinating the same people again and again isn't a huge help, and we should only be reporting clinical cases.  Primarily severe cases.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/09/dr-scot … in-us.html

Meanwhile, former FDA head under Trump, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, feels that the present wave may be the last one in the United States.  Unless a more virulent strain comes about.

1,896 (edited by ireactions 2022-01-24 13:09:29)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I'm not sure we will truly know how effective vaccines are against the Delta variant until well into the fourth wave. Currently, I've seen MRNA vaccines described anywhere from 65 - 95 per cent effective against Delta. The data is all over the place. In addition, it seems those who are vaccinated and infected are just as contagious as the unvaccinated.  Misinformation Warning: Hi, this is ireactions here correcting my own post. Since originally writing the previous words, it's become apparent that vaccinated individuals are less contagious because they shed less virus and for a shorter period of time.

However, vaccinated individuals have lesser symptoms, are hospitalized in smaller numbers if at all and largely don't die from COVID-19, Delta or not.

A certain deranged segment of the world declare that vaccines should be avoided because it impedes their individual choices; that dewormer medication for horses are effective -- except that unvaccinated COVID-19 patients overwhelm health care systems while vaccinated COVID-19 patients can form a viable immune response. Unvaccinated COVID-19 patients are have no defense against COVID-19, can't produce the antibodies to fight off COVID-19 and provide the virus with the opportunity for further replication and mutation into deadlier variants while vaccinated COVID-19 patients are infected in far fewer numbers and a vaccinated population has fewer COVID-19 patients and offer fewer opportunities for new variants to emerge.

Such people don't care about any of that, however; they are largely entitled, white men who believe that any impulse or inclination they have -- to ignore social distancing, to refuse vaccination -- cannot be questioned. They also enjoy the outrage and sense of power that they feel when they declare they will not prevent themselves from spreading a deadly disease.

It is entirely possible that new variants will be vaccine resistant. It is also entirely possible that the deaths of the fourth wave will be primarily among people who refuse to vaccinate or wear masks. Until then, we have to get vaccinated to avoid crashing our hospitals. And we have to wear masks, assume every stranger is unvaccinated and only have close and unmasked social outings that are with people we know to be fully vaccinated.

In addition, with the massive viral load of the Delta variant, it's important that we wear proper masks. Purely cloth masks won't cut it, haven't for a long time. We have to wear masks with electrostatic filters and a nose wire to fold the the filtration layer around your nose (like surgical masks). We have to make sure these masks don't leave large gaps for unfiltered air; a surgical mask often doesn't wrap fully most people's faces, but this can be amended by buying cord locks to tighten the earloops to your ears and ensure that the seal around your nose and mouth is firm.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

all vaccines WORK against delta variant, because they keep you out of the ER.  yes you can still get it and be sick despite vaccination, oh well, same as any other cold or flu virus.  however, what the experts feel is that vaccinated people are likely being infected from their family members or coworkers, who they spend a lot of time around, that are vaccinated as well.  the source on all of them though are unvaccinated spreaders.  however, vaxxed people almost certainly will not be super spreaders.  they are not causing scores of children to be infected and hospitalized in the South right now, it's the unvaccinated. 

as for masks, honestly anything but an N95 equivalent mask is not going to give you much protection.  the surgical ones, cloth ones, whatever, maybe 15-30 minutes, good enough for quick trips inside a store or whatever.  they don't help much otherwise.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I hope you're right about the vaccines versus the Delta. They definitely keep you out of the hospital and out of the grave, but the reports of contagion among the vaccinated have rattled me a bit.

You seem to equate cloth masks with surgical masks. That simply isn't true.

Cloth is indeed near-useless as a filtration medium, but surgical masks are made from meltblown polypropylene. They have a water-resistant filter, an electrostatic layer and an inner layer for skin comfort can filter viral particles. But to protect, a mask with these layers must firmly adhere to the face and leave no gaps around the nose and mouth. Masks with these filters fail to protect not because of the filtration but because of the fit, and fit can be amended.

I have reviewed and personally taken apart N95 masks, KN95 masks, KF94 masks and surgical masks. The N95 is the gold standard because it wraps around the back of the head and clamps to the face to seal off the nose and mouth -- but aside from that, the filtration, while heavily layered (five layers), is ultimately acting on the same principle of the KN95s, KF94s and surgical masks: a water resistant layer to block droplets and an electrostatic layer to ensnare viral particles.

KN95s have the same number of layers and the same filtration, but Chinese manufacturers have had a lot of trouble meeting N95 filtration standards because many of these plants were previously making T-shirts and socks. These masks often break easily or have massive gaps in the electrostatic filtering or don't have all the layers of an N95.

KF94s have four layers and the same filtration, they seal firmly to the face, and they are extremely reliable because South Korea actively inspects manufacturers and fines any business with substandard output and poor quality masks never make it out of the country. However, the filtration rates have proven to be the same; the extra layers of an N95 make it harder and more resilient to wear and tear but adding a fourth and fifth layer only provides diminishing returns.

The material used in surgical masks have nearly the same filtration levels as N95 masks despite only three filters. They have an outer water resistant layer, an inner electrostatic layer and a layer for facial comfort. The problem is not the material; it's that surgicals are shaped like flat rectangles and can't align to the three dimensional shape of a human face. They don't seal firmly, at least not out of the box, and because they leave gaps at the sides, their filtration is estimated at 60 - 80 per cent depending on the face.

However, a surgical can be amended with putting cord locks on the earloops to tighten the surgical mask's grip against the face. They can be further augmented by adding an additional PM2.5 filter inside the mask which can be firmly pressed against the mouth and nose by a tightly fitting surgical.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Most people don't wear surgical masks correctly at all, to the point where they are really not that effective.  That was my point.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Grizzlor wrote:

as for masks, honestly anything but an N95 equivalent mask is not going to give you much protection.  the surgical ones, cloth ones, whatever, maybe 15-30 minutes, good enough for quick trips inside a store or whatever.  they don't help much otherwise.

Grizzlor wrote:

Most people don't wear surgical masks correctly at all, to the point where they are really not that effective.  That was my point.

I don't see anything in your original post about fit, just a blanket remark that anything less than an N95 doesn't protect. And that simply isn't true.

But on the subject of cloth and surgical masks: I've seen some very impressive results with people wearing a surgical mask (with its somewhat loose adhesion to the face) but then wearing a cloth mask on top. While the cloth mask adds only miniscule filtration, most cloth masks I've seen with nose wires and earloops and a triangular shape do a nice job of conforming to the face. This seals the surgical mask where the surgical alone fails.

Personally, I am not a fan of double-masking for myself. It works, but I would rather wear one good mask than a mask that lacks filtration over a mask that lacks a seal. I'm currently using boat-shaped ASTM Level 3 masks because I've found that the seal is best on my face. They're kind of expensive, though, so I only allow myself to rotate between five every month, and I also have a lot of surgical masks with added cord locks as backups.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:
Grizzlor wrote:

as for masks, honestly anything but an N95 equivalent mask is not going to give you much protection.  the surgical ones, cloth ones, whatever, maybe 15-30 minutes, good enough for quick trips inside a store or whatever.  they don't help much otherwise.

Grizzlor wrote:

Most people don't wear surgical masks correctly at all, to the point where they are really not that effective.  That was my point.

I don't see anything in your original post about fit, just a blanket remark that anything less than an N95 doesn't protect. And that simply isn't true.

But on the subject of cloth and surgical masks: I've seen some very impressive results with people wearing a surgical mask (with its somewhat loose adhesion to the face) but then wearing a cloth mask on top. While the cloth mask adds only miniscule filtration, most cloth masks I've seen with nose wires and earloops and a triangular shape do a nice job of conforming to the face. This seals the surgical mask where the surgical alone fails.

Personally, I am not a fan of double-masking for myself. It works, but I would rather wear one good mask than a mask that lacks filtration over a mask that lacks a seal. I'm currently using boat-shaped ASTM Level 3 masks because I've found that the seal is best on my face. They're kind of expensive, though, so I only allow myself to rotate between five every month, and I also have a lot of surgical masks with added cord locks as backups.

The surgical masks, even if they are fit against the face, do protect against this variant anywhere near what the N95 does.  I'm getting that right from Dr. Michael Osterholm.  There really is no way to get it to "seal" on your face.  I agree on wearing the cloth or whatever on top of it, but honestly at that point, why bother?  Just get an N95.  Regardless, his point and mine was that most people wear poor masks and also wear them incorrectly.

1,902 (edited by ireactions 2021-08-11 15:04:50)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Grizzlor wrote:

The surgical masks, even if they are fit against the face, do protect against this variant anywhere near what the N95 does.  I'm getting that right from Dr. Michael Osterholm.  There really is no way to get it to "seal" on your face.  I agree on wearing the cloth or whatever on top of it, but honestly at that point, why bother?  Just get an N95.  Regardless, his point and mine was that most people wear poor masks and also wear them incorrectly.

The only quote I can find from Osterholm on the subject is his appearance on CNN saying that cloth masks are ineffective and N95 masks are his preference; I see no comments on surgical masks from him, although all the search results are inundated with anti-maskers citing Osterholm to bolster their lies that all masks are useless. https://thehill.com/changing-america/we … rotect-you

Regardless, Duke University's tests have shown that surgical mask materials have nearly the same filtration as N95s. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/36/eabd3083 However, surgical masks require either a second cloth mask on top to ensure a firm fit or cord locks to tighten up the earloops for the individual wearer.

Why would someone buy something other than an N95? They can be costly. In my city, N95 masks cost about $1.88 USD per mask. In contrast, a KF94 costs $1.04 USD per mask, and my mask of choice costs $0.77 USD each. My mother, in the hot summer air, cannot breathe through any of these masks and can only stand to wear a $0.40 USD surgical mask. I have added cord locks to each of the earloops ($0.12 USD a pair) to ensure a tight seal to her face for those masks.

Masks aren't infinitely reusable; they'll endure about 40 hours of wearing before the filtration diminishes. People may need to buy masks in high quantities at lower price points and my 77 cent ASTM3 mask with a 360 seal is equal to any N95. Also in my case, I find that most duckbill style masks like KN95s and even the N95 leave some slight gaps whereas the boat style mask I have chosen leaves no gaps at all and the ASTM Level 3 protection boasts splendid filtration.

ASTM Level 3 filters 98 per cent of particles down to 0.1 microns whereas N95 is rated for 95 per cent of particles down to 0.3 microns (although N95 certification tests fit and ASTM does not, but these ASTM3 masks fit my face better than any alternatives I've tried and I've tried a lot).

N95 is an excellent standard. But N95 is only one manufacturing standard of certification from the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSH does not review every mask in existence. Numerous countries have their own certification standards. Countries that aren't America are perfectly capable of manufacturing and certifying masks with electrostatic filtration. Americans don't have a monopoly on meltblown polypropylene.

Other certification standards for electrostatic filtration include the international ASTM (formerly American), the European Union's FFP2, the KF94 of South Korea and the Chinese KN95. Each standard and testing process is slightly different and the KN95 has proven lax, but mask standards are not the sole domain of the United States or NIOSH or China.

Mechanical engineer Aaron Collins has tested KF94 masks and found that they match and exceed N95 standards. https://news.yahoo.com/one-man-is-on-a- … 56926.html

NIOSH has not reviewed KF94s. But mask filtration is not affected by whether or not one American body put their stamp on the box.

Now, to be clear: Grizzlor's preference for only wearing N95 masks is safe and sets a high target for protection. Anyone who adopted it would be well-protected. N95 masks are an industry standard of high performance. It is the most resilient and most stringently tested respirator technology on the market. Nobody should ever perceive an N95 mask to be anything less than excellent. And Grizzlor is entirely correct to present Osterholm as a source of knowledge as Osterholm has warned that cloth masks are pretty much useless.

However, there is also excellence to be found in ASTM Level 3 masks, KF94 masks, and properly fitted electrostatic surgical masks as well. Once the filtration is good, the key concern is fit.

1,903 (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2021-08-12 10:03:12)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

I hope you're right about the vaccines versus the Delta. They definitely keep you out of the hospital and out of the grave, but the reports of contagion among the vaccinated have rattled me a bit.

You seem to equate cloth masks with surgical masks. That simply isn't true.

Cloth is indeed near-useless as a filtration medium, but surgical masks are made from meltblown polypropylene. They have a water-resistant filter, an electrostatic layer and an inner layer for skin comfort can filter viral particles. But to protect, a mask with these layers must firmly adhere to the face and leave no gaps around the nose and mouth. Masks with these filters fail to protect not because of the filtration but because of the fit, and fit can be amended.

I have reviewed and personally taken apart N95 masks, KN95 masks, KF94 masks and surgical masks. The N95 is the gold standard because it wraps around the back of the head and clamps to the face to seal off the nose and mouth -- but aside from that, the filtration, while heavily layered (five layers), is ultimately acting on the same principle of the KN95s, KF94s and surgical masks: a water resistant layer to block droplets and an electrostatic layer to ensnare viral particles.

KN95s have the same number of layers and the same filtration, but Chinese manufacturers have had a lot of trouble meeting N95 filtration standards because many of these plants were previously making T-shirts and socks. These masks often break easily or have massive gaps in the electrostatic filtering or don't have all the layers of an N95.

KF94s have four layers and the same filtration, they seal firmly to the face, and they are extremely reliable because South Korea actively inspects manufacturers and fines any business with substandard output and poor quality masks never make it out of the country. However, the filtration rates have proven to be the same; the extra layers of an N95 make it harder and more resilient to wear and tear but adding a fourth and fifth layer only provides diminishing returns.

The material used in surgical masks have nearly the same filtration levels as N95 masks despite only three filters. They have an outer water resistant layer, an inner electrostatic layer and a layer for facial comfort. The problem is not the material; it's that surgicals are shaped like flat rectangles and can't align to the three dimensional shape of a human face. They don't seal firmly, at least not out of the box, and because they leave gaps at the sides, their filtration is estimated at 60 - 80 per cent depending on the face.

However, a surgical can be amended with putting cord locks on the earloops to tighten the surgical mask's grip against the face. They can be further augmented by adding an additional PM2.5 filter inside the mask which can be firmly pressed against the mouth and nose by a tightly fitting surgical.

Do you know of k95 lose most of their usefulness (in terms of unique qualities k95 is supposed to provide) once you use them X number of times / its age?   Because if the static electric charge is the 'point' i am pretty sure a lot of that can go away over time and i keep re-using the same ones but maybe I'm not really getting much of that added k95 benefit? 

Like, are we supposed to change these things every week or something?

edit: sorry in your last post you mention every forty wears.  Is that a number that pertains to k95?

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Mechanical engineer Aaron Collins has done a lot of tests of KF94s and KN95s and recommends wearing them for 30 - 40 hours. This applies to any mask that uses meltblown polypropylene that filters through an electrostatic charge which includes N95s, KN95s, KF94s and surgical masks. The electrostatic charge dissipates as it goes to work in catching particles from air going in and out; in addition, earloops on masks stretch over time and what starts as a firm seal can become less firm after 30 - 40 hours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_In-nBP6WkQ

At the start of each month, I set aside five boat-shaped ASTM Level 3 masks, one designated for each day. After a wearing, I put the worn mask in a paper envelope (marked with the day of the week) and let it sit for four days while moving onto the next mask. During those four days, any droplets will evaporate and any virus will become inactive. I also have surgical masks (with cord locks and PM2.5 filters) as backups, and those are also put in the paper envelope for four days after a wearing.

At the end of the month, I throw out the five ASTM3 masks and start on a new set of five. The surgical masks, however, I wear a lot less, so I use for two months before throwing them out and moving to a new set of backup surgicals. (I keep the cord locks, though.)

And as I've mentioned, KN95 manufacturing standards have proven extremely poor with at least 70 percent of KN95s in North America filtering less than the advertised 95 per cent, some filtering as little as 20 per cent. Whenever starting on a new brand of masks (three packs of KF94s, 10 packs of surgicals, 50 packs of ASTM3 boat shape masks), I always cut one open and check to make sure that there is a filtration layer inside with a static charge. I also put water in this test mask to ensure that fluids (and droplets) don't soak through.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

You've probably mentioned this before but what ASTM3 masks do you buy?  Can you provide a link?

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I'm afraid that my ASTM Level 3 masks are a Canadian product delivered within Canada only (and they seem to have sold out anyway at present on innolifecare.com). However, the mask that I have my mother wear is the Kleannara KF94 and Kleannara has an Amazon store.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/KLEANNARA … C97B9972D?

I've taken apart my ASTM3 mask and taken apart the Kleannara mask and the Kleannara mask is actually a bit better. Under the Kleannara's outer layer of water resistant non-woven layer is a high density filtration layer on top of the electrostatic layer followed by the soft-on-skin layer. In contrast, my ASTM3 mask has the water resistant material on as the first and third layer with the electrostatic filter in the middle. But my ASTM3 mask has a closer fit on my nose, so I use those instead.

Aaron Collins, the mechanical engineer whose videos provide me with all knowledge of masks, has reviewed the Kleannara as well with his equipment and he measured filtration at 98.7 per cent, so it is a very fine mask. https://youtu.be/Z93BoeCuIE4?t=1992

My mother says she can't wear the Kleannara right now as it's very hot outside and she is struggling to breathe through the four layer mask. I have put her back on three-layer surgicals with cord locks. If you already have surgical masks and just want to close the gaps, you could try spending $7 on 100 cord locks.

https://www.amazon.com/Adjuster-Silicon … ref=sr_1_2

1,907 (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2021-08-12 22:15:09)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

Mechanical engineer Aaron Collins has done a lot of tests of KF94s and KN95s and recommends wearing them for 30 - 40 hours. This applies to any mask that uses meltblown polypropylene that filters through an electrostatic charge which includes N95s, KN95s, KF94s and surgical masks. The electrostatic charge dissipates as it goes to work in catching particles from air going in and out; in addition, earloops on masks stretch over time and what starts as a firm seal can become less firm after 30 - 40 hours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_In-nBP6WkQ

At the start of each month, I set aside five boat-shaped ASTM Level 3 masks, one designated for each day. After a wearing, I put the worn mask in a paper envelope (marked with the day of the week) and let it sit for four days while moving onto the next mask. During those four days, any droplets will evaporate and any virus will become inactive. I also have surgical masks (with cord locks and PM2.5 filters) as backups, and those are also put in the paper envelope for four days after a wearing.

At the end of the month, I throw out the five ASTM3 masks and start on a new set of five. The surgical masks, however, I wear a lot less, so I use for two months before throwing them out and moving to a new set of backup surgicals. (I keep the cord locks, though.)

And as I've mentioned, KN95 manufacturing standards have proven extremely poor with at least 70 percent of KN95s in North America filtering less than the advertised 95 per cent, some filtering as little as 20 per cent. Whenever starting on a new brand of masks (three packs of KF94s, 10 packs of surgicals, 50 packs of ASTM3 boat shape masks), I always cut one open and check to make sure that there is a filtration layer inside with a static charge. I also put water in this test mask to ensure that fluids (and droplets) don't soak through.

thanks for that info.  in terms of storage, do you thing a paper envelope is superior to a plastic zip lock for storage (in term of preserving the static electric charge)?

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I don't believe anything can preserve the static charge aside from not wearing it. The reason a paper envelope is best for storage after wearing: moisture can evapourate from the mask and through the paper. The mask will dry, any virus lodged in the mask will become inactive, and the mask can be worn again after 72 hours (although I give it 96 to make it easier to keep track). A plastic ziplock bag won't allow moisture to lift off the mask; it will stay in the bag and on the mask.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

I don't believe anything can preserve the static charge aside from not wearing it. The reason a paper envelope is best for storage after wearing: moisture can evapourate from the mask and through the paper. The mask will dry, any virus lodged in the mask will become inactive, and the mask can be worn again after 72 hours (although I give it 96 to make it easier to keep track). A plastic ziplock bag won't allow moisture to lift off the mask; it will stay in the bag and on the mask.

Oh ok.  I thought if the mask was exposed to air that it naturally lost the electro static charge at the forty hr rate.  it sounds like wearing it is what is largely responsible for that loss, due to exhale and breath (carrying moisture discharge)?  rather than just air exposure (which is why I had asked about zip lock bags).

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Under various tests, the electrostatic charge has mostly broken down due to liquid, aerosol and particle exposure from inhaling and exhaling. Air exposure in storage has proven to be irrelevant at least within a four month period.

When an electrostatic layer gets soaked, it loses its static properties. (This rarely happens because a mask has an outer water resistant layer.) But every time you breathe through a mask, you are expelling moisture in your breath. The moisture goes through the mask. This is a very low level of moisture, but the droplets in your breath which will gradually cause the charge to lessen over time.

The other charge-reducing factor is particle exposure. As you breathe in and out, every particle that your mask filter catches with its static charge is a reduction in that static charge.

According to Collins' tests, after 38 hours in a "clean office environment," a mask with 99 per cent filtration would go down by 3 - 4 per cent. That's not bad, but that filtration level will only get lower and lower. If you're regularly passing through environments with lots of particles in the air, that charge will drop even more severely.

However, leaving a mask sitting unused didn't seem to cause the filtration to degrade within the four months Collins was testing this. Air is not being forced in and out through the filter when the mask isn't worn. You have to breathe through it to wear the filter down.

N95 masks are sold with an expiry date of five years after they were produced, presumably because the electrostatic charge can't last indefinitely.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

Under various tests, the electrostatic charge has mostly broken down due to liquid, aerosol and particle exposure from inhaling and exhaling. Air exposure in storage has proven to be irrelevant at least within a four month period.

When an electrostatic layer gets soaked, it loses its static properties. (This rarely happens because a mask has an outer water resistant layer.) But every time you breathe through a mask, you are expelling moisture in your breath. The moisture goes through the mask. This is a very low level of moisture, but the droplets in your breath which will gradually cause the charge to lessen over time.

The other charge-reducing factor is particle exposure. As you breathe in and out, every particle that your mask filter catches with its static charge is a reduction in that static charge.

According to Collins' tests, after 38 hours in a "clean office environment," a mask with 99 per cent filtration would go down by 3 - 4 per cent. That's not bad, but that filtration level will only get lower and lower. If you're regularly passing through environments with lots of particles in the air, that charge will drop even more severely.

However, leaving a mask sitting unused didn't seem to cause the filtration to degrade within the four months Collins was testing this. Air is not being forced in and out through the filter when the mask isn't worn. You have to breathe through it to wear the filter down.

N95 masks are sold with an expiry date of five years after they were produced, presumably because the electrostatic charge can't last indefinitely.


Thank you, this is great information.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Well obviously the lead story is the total mess in Afghanistan.  Not much to say other than the US Military is incapable of a mass/hasty withdrawal like this following what is obviously defeat.  Frankly, I don't think any military is capable of keeping order in this type of scenario.  I do not quite understand why the administration seemed to ignore calls for an earlier evacuation?  My personal feeling is that Biden expected that would require taking tens of thousands of Afghans on as refugees, for which every GOP politician would have screamed bloody murder over.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Afghanistan isn't masks, so I'm not qualified to really analyze it right now. Every editorial I've seen saying Biden was wrong to withdraw is written from a pro-war standpoint which I don't hold with. Every editorial I've seen saying Afghanistan was unwinnable and pointless and that there is never a good time end an already lost far pays little attention to the civilians who will suffer. I am not capable of offering any measured, considered perspective, so I'm simply reading and listening.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Ultimately the Afghani "leadership" is to blame for the Taliban's quick retaking of the country. The US left them with a significant advantage in manpower and equipment, twenty years of training, and control of all the major cities. Maintaining a hold over the country shouldn't have been that difficult.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I think that is something to contemplate.

**

This is not about masks or Afghanistan but, oddly, is about SLIDERS and Trumpism.

In 2018, I had an episode of blackout rage where on a SLIDERS Facebook group, a person I'll call Francisco Herrera called Temporal Flux a liar because Temporal Flux shared so much anecdotal behind the scenes information about SLIDERS that Herrera couldn't imagine anyone being able to find and therefore, Temporal Flux had to be making it all up. Herrera told people to go to EarthPrime.com for "the real story" which is hilarious because EarthPrime.com's behind the scenes information doesn't contradict Temporal Flux in any area.

I was furious that my friend was being attacked with EP.COM as a cudgel especially when I'd spent a lot of time converting a box of Sci-Fi Channel press clippings to EP.COM content. I proceeded to post 10 separate links in the Facebook group linking to EP.COM where TF had gotten the info first, each time tagging Herrera. Herrera proceeded to reply, "I have been tagged with at least TEN NOTIFICATIONS today," he wrote. "Nobody needs this on Christmas Day! If you want to keep posting links to EarthPrime, LEAVE ME OUT OF IT!"

The moderator told me to desist and I agreed. Later, I decided I had to get the hell out of this ridiculous Facebook group because posters kept slut-shaming Kari Wuhrer for having performed nude scenes (nonsensically insulting her for producing the material they clearly sought out and enjoyed). Also, the posters there inexplicably rallied behind some scam artist claiming that he was pitching a revival of SLIDERS (an NBCUniversal property) to the Canadian Broadcasting Company (which has no tie to NBCUniversal) and that he was sure he could convince the Canadian Broadcasting Company to buy the rights to SLIDERS. This person didn't have so much as a TV commercial to their name and also bragged that he was going to be contacting David Peckinpah and Kari Weir to return as their characters.

Anyway. Recently, Hererra showed up in the SLIDERS Discord. While civil at first, he remarked on my psychotic episode against him and I confirmed that his account was accurate and that he'd upset me. Then abruptly, Herrera stopped being civil when I said I had been talking to a SLIDERS crew member who shall be nameless, but I had stopped talking to them and become uncomfortable when this crew member had been retweeting pro-Trump posts.

"I'm sick of people demonizing Trump voters," Hererra said. "Your president did good things for your country. You have to accept it."

I said it was interesting that Herrera assumed he could only be talking to Americans in an internet forum when the SLIDERS Discord is actually run by a Canadian and a Scotswoman and defined a failure to support Donald Trump as treason. I also remarked that Donald Trump supporters were largely composed of abusive, harrassing liars.

Herrera proceeded to call me a "virtue signaler" and "an elitist." I promptly blocked him, but I noticed that he was responding to my every comment afterwards which I would read 4 - 6 hours later.

I commented on DOCTOR WHO having recently recast the First Doctor. Herrera shrieked at me that the Doctor had been recast in 1966, not recently, and said I should get my facts right. I guess his hurried Google search missed how David Bradley had played the First Doctor in 2017.

I remarked that Allison Mack had left SMALLVILLE in Season 9; Hererra told me that Allison Mack had "completed" all 10 seasons of SMALLVILLE, clearly having never watched the show and unaware that Mack only did six episodes out of 22 in Season 10.

I commented that Jerry O'Connell didn't seem too picky about projects these days having done lots of pilots and voicework and web videos and he shrieked at me that Jerry O'Connell was worth millions. "He gets paid more than YOU!" A very odd attempt at an insult as the vast majority of people in the world have less than 20 million dollars.

I didn't respond to him. The moderator asked Herrera to desist and I also apologized to Herrera for my behaviour on Facebook in 2018, then put him on mute again, reading his comments hours after he'd send them.

I commented later that David Peckinpah's concern for safety standards on SLIDERS had been shockingly poor, hiring a non-union stunt worker in Season 5 despite poor safety having already gotten Ken Steadman killed in Season 3. Hererra told me that it was outrageous for me to criticize David Peckinpah in any way because Peckinpah had built an excellent career before SLIDERS.

I remarked that "The Exodus" had been essentially a two week rock concert for the cast and crew to enjoy Roger Daltrey's band (The Who) with filming episodes done between binge drinking and spoke to Peckinpah's addiction issues; Herrera told me that it was ridiculous for me to speak poorly of Peckinpah given Peckinpah's mental health.

I noted that Peckinpah writing rape fantasies about Sabrina Lloyd into "Genesis" was shockingly unprofessional; Herrera declared that I had no right to evaluate Peckinpah's writing at all because Peckinpah was dead.

I didn't respond to him. The moderator informed Herrera that criticism of David Peckinpah was not in any way unreasonable or off limits.

I was later talking about how the Season 5 team had known SLIDERS would be cancelled and Herrera called me a liar, saying that Bill Dial had not known about the cancellation until after filming "The Seer."

I didn't respond to him. The moderator pointed Herrera to Keith Damron's blog posts citing that Season 5 had 18 episodes simply to reach syndication and end it, that a series finale story had been plotted, and also pointed to actor interviews where they themselves said Bill Dial believed Season 5 would be the final season. Herrera replied that Dial had wanted the show to come back, not addressing how Dial had known full well that it wouldn't.

The moderator proceeded to kick Herrera off the SLIDERS Discord for posting blatant falsehoods about SLIDERS.

Let's take a moment to appreciate how a Trumpist became angry about being described as an abusive, harassing liar and so proceeded to engage in a campaign of abuse, harassment and lies. This Trumpist declared that anyone who is worth less than $20 million is a target to be attacked. This Trumpist decreed that David Peckinpah's stewardship of SLIDERS should never, ever, ever be criticized in any way shape or form and that David Peckinpah writing rape fantasies about Sabrina Lloyd into SLIDERS scripts isn't something to be judged harshly.

Anyway. I apologized to the Discord moderator, saying that this situation was entirely my fault because I'd antagonized a crazy person in 2018 and they came after me in 2021 and did it on the SLIDERS Discord. And I gave the moderator my word that I would stop creating enemies this way because they apparently show up later on her server.

Since then, I've been dealing with the Herreras of the world by speaking to moderators and administrators and not making myself a target that they'll pursue to the ends of the SLIDERS community.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

I'm afraid that my ASTM Level 3 masks are a Canadian product delivered within Canada only (and they seem to have sold out anyway at present on innolifecare.com). However, the mask that I have my mother wear is the Kleannara KF94 and Kleannara has an Amazon store.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/KLEANNARA … C97B9972D?

Awesome.  I bought some of these yesterday and they'll be my primary mask.  I really only leave the house to get groceries and pick up take out so I think a good reliable mask will be a key part of staying healthy.

My only concern now is that we have grandparents coming over semi-regularly to help with the kids and my oldest is in daycare.  But I think it's impossible to have zero risk.  I'm just doing what I can.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Grizzlor wrote:

Well obviously the lead story is the total mess in Afghanistan.  Not much to say other than the US Military is incapable of a mass/hasty withdrawal like this following what is obviously defeat.  Frankly, I don't think any military is capable of keeping order in this type of scenario.  I do not quite understand why the administration seemed to ignore calls for an earlier evacuation?  My personal feeling is that Biden expected that would require taking tens of thousands of Afghans on as refugees, for which every GOP politician would have screamed bloody murder over.

I haven't figured out where I stand on it.  I think Afghanistan was a huge failure and we probably needed to get out.  We probably could've done better, but I agree with Biden that if the Afghans didn't care, why should we?

I do wonder why there wasn't a quicker move to evacuate, and I haven't heard a good reason as to why that didn't happen.  Especially Americans.  I would've evacuated, then withdrawn.  But I'm hardly an expert either.  I think it sucks for all the soldiers who felt like they lost friends for no reason.  But I don't know what else we could've done: it does seem like the options were to leave or stay forever.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions.....I'm about 99% certain I know the man who spoke of as "Francisco Herrera" LOL as he's pretty active on the Sliders FB group.  I get into it frequently with him, because he's quite the "know-it-all" and his new crusade is to complain about anything woke.  Suffice to say he doesn't have much reverence for any of us who've been in the Sliders online community for over 20 years.  Which is fine.

Moving on, guys the sad fact is you will not find one instance in the history of mankind where an occupying army completely withdraws from a war it has effectively lost, and there is no chaos.  There is always chaos, and there are always huge numbers of people left behind who fought/aided that same army.  It is unavoidable, and is not the fault of the military leadership.  The media is full of Monday morning QB's from right to left, but none of them have a reasonable alternative plan for what's happening there. 

The only alternative is to redeploy probably 100K US forces on the ground, a level we have not had in a decade or more.  Biden is trying to avoid having US Marines having a firefight with Taliban.  That is his goal here, get Americans and Western nationals out.  So that's where we are.  If he can accomplish that to a satisfactory level, great.  Doesn't seem like it right now though.  For those who will start screaming Al Qaeda will return, or they won't let girls go to school, whatever, enough already.  We cannot be at war.  The Afghans largely gave up when Trump made that deal in February 2020, it is what it is.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Afghanistan is a bad situation. I don't know what else to say about it right now except everyone's views here seem valid.

**

I don't know that the longevity of our love for SLIDERS is anything that requires reverence, but I do think we should bow to facts and not flood the SLIDERS community with false information about the show.

I don't doubt, Grizzlor, that you know exactly who Francisco Herrera is, but I don't want to attack his professional prospects by putting his real name in an account of his insistence on defending rape fantasies that could be harmful when employers look him up.

I accept full responsibility for how things with Francisco Herrera started in 2018. I don't think it was my fault that it ended up the way it did in 2021. Nobody forced him to flood the Discord channel with savage insistence that David Peckinpah's unprofessionalism, sexual harassment and non-existent script editing should never be raised or discussed or critiqued.

I wasn't even responding to him; he did that of his own accord because hearing Trumpists declared as abusively harassing liars apparently made him feel he had to defend himself by being an abusively harassing liar with the lies being so petty and easily fact-checked (like whether or not Allison Mack did every episode of SMALLVILLE's tenth season or whether or not a new actor recently played the First Doctor in DOCTOR WHO).

I'm not sure if Francisco Herrera understands that he became a Trumpist cliche in a SLIDERS context by claiming David Peckinpah and Bill Dial should be elevated to sainthood. He continued to bleat that Peckinpah and Dial should never be questioned and lied about Dial not knowing Season 5 was the end and I don't know if he actually believes that. He may or may not, but he kept saying that because it obviously enraged him that I wouldn't respond to him, wouldn't speak to him, wouldn't acknowledge that he even existed. He was hoping his lies would trigger a response from me and got himself kicked off the server and I suppose he did get me to respond, but only after he was gone.

I absolutely started it and I accept responsibility for that, but I'm not responsible for how someone offended by Trumpists being viewed as as deranged, deceitful abusers decided that the best way to disprove that would be to embark on a deranged course of deceitful abuse. Francisco Herrera was probably like this long before Christmas 2018.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

By the way, this study claims that most surgical masks and cloth coverings filter only about 10 percent of exhaled aerosols.  KN95 are 46% while the N95 is 60% effective.  This again goes to my point that most people are using masks that don't do much of anything.

https://nypost.com/2021/08/22/study-fin … oth-masks/