Jonathan H. B. Lobl

You want credit for trolling the board? For making yourself an affliction to others? For pretending to be a stupid bigot? Even now, you are trying to start more stupidity. Nothing about you is worth the trouble. Just piss off.

It's your usual inane ramblings. I don't give a crap what you believe. Your beliefs are not my problem. If you expect an adult to listen to you; you're going to have to do a lot better than that. Bald assertions are not worth arguing about. The strongest claims require the strongest evidence. You have nothing. Belief is not a path to truth. It is so easy to believe things that are not true. Scripture is not evidence. Your Scripture is not more trustworthy than the Koran, for instance. Your belief is not more valid than the beliefs of any other religion.

Parosmia: The Covid Smell

Sometimes even the raw data are slippery. Government statements keeps saying how many people have had "at least one dose" of the mRNA vaccines. In a two dose system, one dose is a failure. That means the real numbers are much worse. it sounds better to talk about the one dose cases, but it's a dishonest manipulation. When the raw facts are a lie, interpretation is a problem.

Chinese Regime Has Stolen Enough Data to Compile ‘Dossier’ on All Americans: Official CHINAJack Phillips Aug 6, 2021ShareFacebookTwitterCopy LinkComments2 Part of the Chinese Communist Party's army of "internet trolls" in an undated leaked photo, in Fangzheng County, Harbin City, China. (NTD) A former U.S. national security official warned that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is stealing data to compile a “dossier” on every American adult and may use coercive means to influence private citizens and political leaders. During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing this week, former Trump deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger said the CCP has stolen Americans’ sensitive data via illicit methods, including cyber theft and hacking. “Assembling dossiers on people has always been a feature of Leninist regimes, but Beijing’s penetration of digital networks worldwide, including using 5G networks … has really taken this to a new level,” Pottinger said, referring to former Soviet dictator Vladimir Lenin. With the information the CCP has obtained, he said, it “now compiles dossiers on millions of foreign citizens around the world, using the material that it gathers to influence, target, intimidate, reward, blackmail, flatter, humiliate, and ultimately divide and conquer.” Going a step further, Pottinger sounded the alarm that “Beijing’s stolen sensitive data is sufficient to build a dossier on every single American adult and on many of our children too, who are fair game under Beijing’s rules of political warfare.” Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger arrives for a Medal of Honor ceremony for Sergeant Major Thomas P. Payne, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Sept. 11, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) SIGN UP FOR NTD DAILY What you need to know, summarized in one email. Stay informed with accurate news you can trust. By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy. For years, the CCP has engaged in campaigns to steal U.S. intellectual property and technology secrets in a bid to militarily and geopolitically gain an advantage over the West. The regime has also carried out significant hacks against private entities, including last month’s alleged cyberattack against Microsoft—which the United States and its allies blamed on the Chinese Ministry of State Security. In addition, four Chinese nationals were charged by the Department of Justice over a number of separate cyber intrusions that targeted corporate and research secrets. During the hearing, the former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, William Evanina, said that the CCP is using a “whole of country approach” to “leverage, infiltrate, influence, and steal from every corner of U.S. success.” “It is estimated,” Evanina warned, “that 80 percent of American adults have had all of their personal data stolen by the CCP, and the other 20 percent most of their personal data.” Furthermore, he said that the Chinese regime poses an “existential threat” to the United States and is employing “complex, pernicious, strategic, and aggressive” tactics to accomplish its goals. William Evanina, nominee to be director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center testifies during a hearing held by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in Washington on May 15, 2018. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) The Chinese regime is even working to illegally obtain data to create artificial intelligence, research, and development programs to bolster its military and economic goals. After the recent cyberattacks, Biden administration officials offered sharp criticism against Beijing’s state-sponsored hacks, including intellectual property theft. But the critical words were not accompanied by any punitive actions including diplomatic expulsions or sanctions against the regime. Separately, Pottinger also warned about the CCP’s so-called “United Front” efforts to spread propaganda and influence decision-makers around the world and within the United States. “The CCP’s 95 million members are all required to participate in the system, which has many different branches. The United Front Work Department alone, which is just one branch, has three times as many cadres as the U.S. State Department has foreign service officers,” he noted. From The Epoch Times

Apple Will Scan All iPhones for Illegal Child Abuse Images, Sparking Privacy Debate SCIENCE & TECHJack Phillips Aug 6, 2021ShareFacebookTwitterCopy LinkComments2 Replay Mute Current Time 2:11 / Duration 2:11 Loaded: 100.00% 1x Playback Rate auto Fullscreen Seek back 10 seconds Seek forward 10 seconds Apple announced Thursday is it planning to scan all iPhones in the United States for child abuse imagery, raising alarm among security experts who said the plan could allow the firm to surveil tens of millions of personal devices for unrelated reasons. In a blog post, the company confirmed reports saying that new scanning technology is part of a suite of child protection programs that would “evolve and expand.” It will be rolled out as part of iOS 15, which is scheduled for release sometime in August. Apple, which has often touted itself as a company that promises to safeguard users’ right to privacy, appeared to try and preempt privacy concerns by saying that the software will enhance those protections by avoiding the need to carry out widespread image scanning on its cloud servers. “This innovative new technology allows Apple to provide valuable and actionable information to [the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children] and law enforcement regarding the proliferation of known CSAM,” said the company, referring to an acronym for child sexual abuse material. “And it does so while providing significant privacy benefits over existing techniques since Apple only learns about users’ photos if they have a collection of known CSAM in their iCloud Photos account. Even in these cases, Apple only learns about images that match known CSAM.” The Cupertino-based tech giant said the system will utilize breakthrough cryptography technology and artificial intelligence to find abuse material when it is stored in iCloud Photos, said the firm in its blog post. The images will be matched to a known database of illegal images, the firm said, adding that if a certain number of those images are uploaded to iCloud Photos, the company will review them. Those images—if they’re deemed illegal—will be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The software won’t be applied to videos, Apple added. SIGN UP FOR NTD DAILY What you need to know, summarized in one email. Stay informed with accurate news you can trust. By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy. “Apple’s expanded protection for children is a game-changer,” John Clark, the president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said in a statement on Thursday about the initiative. “The reality is that privacy and child protection can coexist.“ But some security experts and researchers, who stressed they support efforts to combat child abuse, said the program could present significant privacy concerns. Ross Anderson, professor of security engineering at the University of Cambridge, described Apple’s proposed system as “an absolutely appalling idea,” according to the Financial Times. “It is going to lead to distributed bulk surveillance of … our phones and laptops,” he remarked. When news of the proposal broke on Wednesday evening, John Hopkins University professor and cryptographer Matthew Green echoed those concerns. “This sort of tool can be a boon for finding child pornography in people’s phones,” Green wrote on Twitter. “But imagine what it could do in the hands of an authoritarian government?” Green said that “if you believe Apple won’t allow these tools to be misused [crossed fingers emoji] there’s still a lot to be concerned about,” noting that such “systems rely on a database of ‘problematic media hashes’ that you, as a consumer, can’t review.” The expert told The Associated Press that he’s concerned Apple could be pressured by other, more authoritarian governments to scan for other types of information. Microsoft created photoDNA to assist companies in identifying child sexual abuse images on the internet, while Facebook and Google have implemented systems to flag and review possibly illegal content. The Epoch Times has contacted Apple for comment. From The Epoch Times

Which web site did you use?

I had two concerns when I wrote the section on Communism. 1. The cultural impact on America. To distinguish America from the "Godless Commies" during the Eisenhower Administration in the 1950's. The Insertion of Under God into the Pledge of Allegiance. Changing the National Motto into One Nation Under God. Now it's all over the money and various police vehicles. These are outlandish power grabs by the forces of Theocracy. Rubbing salt into the wounds, we have the various court rulings that this has nothing to do with religion. That these are expressions of "patriotism" and "unity". 2. It's amazing that even now, there are so many, who can't tell the difference between Communism and Atheism. The American Education system has failed. The forces of Theocracy have succeeded in making Atheism into a dirty word.

Do you even know what an oxymorn is? The classic example is "military intelligence". I have come to view Christianity as a virus of the mind. Yes, much like Herpes, Christianity will be with us for a long, long time. I promised myself that I was done arguing with you. Yet, here I am.

"Nothing to do with bigotry" -- said the Christian bigot.

So true. When Faith and Belief are all that matter, Critical thinking isn't even a speed bump.

Over the years, I have gotten into many arguments with the deeply religious. In hindsight I can see that they were useless and futile. I have put out nothing. To the contrary. I think I have enflamed passions. I did so by providing opposition. Christians love opposition. It feeds their persecution fantasies. Standing up for Christ and all that good crap. There is another way to put out a fire. Wait. Just wait. In time, it will run out of fuel and burn itself out. In the Gospels, Christians have the Great Commission. Orders from the risen Christ to "spread the good news." As an Apathetic Agnostic, I have no mandate. I don't know and I don't care. If I choose to get into arguments that are stupid, useless and futile -- it's on me. I don't enjoy it and I don't want to do it any more. The wind has gone out of my sails. I don't care and I can't be bothered.

Oops. I put the closing line in the wrong place. Too late to fix it.

I have to respond to both of you in a two parter. "Religion" is such a broad brush. Too broad. I think we all know what we mean by Monotheism: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Without Christianity, Islam would have taken over the world. Without Islam, Christianity would have taken over the world. Christian vs. Christian holy wars are the stuff of legend. Muslim vs. Muslim holy wars are the stuff of legend. Jewish infighting is also the stuff of legend. Too much to drag out now. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is the hottest of hot spots. Good luck cooling that down. Hinduism/Vedanta defies cataloging. Has it been good for India? On balance, no. It hasn't. The Bhagavad Gita begins with two Hindu Kingdoms about to go to war with each other. Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu the Preserver, does not stop the war. He encourages it. What about modern India? The Hindu dominionists and their parties are vicious. The caste system continues to damage India. Even now. One of India's biggest problems, even now, is rape. The Hindu/Pakistan border is one of the great flashpoints of the world. Polytheism? A religion with many gods? The Norse Vikings were raiders. Ancient Sparta went to war with ancient Athens. Buddhism? When Buddhism/Buddhists are the dominant influence, things are not so peaceful. The history of China. The history of Japan. Modern Burma. Communism: We can't over look the bloody history of Communism, which is a godless religion in it's own right. Communism persecutes the followers of traditional religion, because it can't tolerate competition. A few oddities are worth mentioning. In China under "Chairman" Mao Tze Tung. Mao was his own modern day god and his Little Red Book was scripture. A strange cult. History repeats. Now we have President Xi. AKA Xi Dada. Modern China has it's "House Churches". The rest are being persecuted. A major topic too big for here. We must pause to consider the plight of China's Muslims. The people in concentration camps. It's odd how the world's Muslims seem to be ignoring this. Modern Russia is in alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church. I see echoes of Hitler's alliance with the Vatican. The persecution of Falun Gong. A major topic. That's enough for now. I need to do some thinking before I continue. Stalin: A Soviet god. At least, a demi god. North Korea; with it's veneration of the Founder, and his Son, the Dear Leader. God the Father and God the Son.

It's amazing how the tax codes and other laws seem to favor the wealthy. Almost as though there were a causal relationship. The UBI could actually happen. Capitalism needs customers who can pay for stuff. The UBI could replace much of the social safety net. It would cost less and be easier to administer. Something has to give. I never thought I would see cashier jobs vanishing.

There are many who seem to be the wise and calming voice of reason. Who insist that the new tech will create more jobs than it destroys. The thing is -- how many of these people are themselves looking for a job? We are rushing head on into an unemployment disaster. If you wanted a career oriented major in school -- what course of study would you even pick? Remember. Jobs that require people to do them -- but not a physical presence -- are going to get outsourced. Repetitive jobs of all types will be automated. No matter how we dice it, the future is in a lot of trouble. The new tech is adapting faster than the work force. This is what has changed.

It is the follies of youth. Young people like to burn the candle at both ends. You know. Young and stupid. When I was that age, I knew everything. Now, not so much.

As you say, fear and rage. This is the click bait generation -- served up in the great echo chamber of social media.

Pascal's Wager

Double Standards

Hitler's Atheism

The Great Debate