Evan Burton

Steven,

You misunderstand. I am not commenting on the accuracy or otherwise on the subject matter; I was commenting on your (and others) propensity for posting "walls of text"; I find it counter-productive as many people will not spend the time required to read what has been written. Since this is apparently a verbatim copy of what was on a blog, I would just summarise the main points and link to the blog itself. That's just my opinion; you just keep doing what you think is best.

As far as "didly-squat" is concerned, we Australians are not quite so parochial: many of us know quite a lot of terms which have foreign origins. I know what a "Monday morning quarterback" is, what I should do if I hear "Blues and twos"; I even know that when I say I'm getting my thongs and getting pissed that most Americans would have a completely misinterpreted idea of what I am going to do!

WOW! Wall of text.

As someone who doesn't have a dog in this fight, I think it is important for all sides to get a chance to have their say. The people who are very sure of their position will be able to defend their posts.

Seeing robust debate is excellent; watching people throw insults against one another is deplorable.

I believe that people here should allow - indeed encourage - those with contrary views to participate here. Taking on an opponent and invalidating their assertions through logic and evidence is the most effective way to negate them.

As long as people can remain civil, then debate regarding your favorite topic is the essence of a great forum.

Hi John - good to have you here.

Hi Scott - welcome and I hope you find your time here rewarding.

Hi Mark - welcome to the Forum.

Please keep in mind the reason is unclear, and may have a completely natural cause:

The reason for the drop is unclear. Sardine populations are famously volatile, but the decline is the steepest since the collapse of the sardine fishery in the mid-20th century. And their numbers are projected to keep sliding.

One factor is a naturally occurring climate cycle known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which in recent years has brought cold, nutrient-rich water to the West Coast. While those conditions have brought a boom in some species, such as market squid, they have repelled sardines.

If nature is responsible for the decline, history shows the fish will bounce back when ocean conditions improve. But without a full understanding of the causes, the crash is raising alarm.

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/05/local/la-me-sardine-crash-20140106

G'day John,

I am not happy with a lot of what the PRC is doing but it is great to see their space programmes are achiving their aims. As you say, I would not be surprised to see them become the leaders in space technology. In fact, a recent issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology headed the article "China: From laggard to leader".

Interesting to see that some of the ol' rabid HBs are now loudly decrying the landing of the PRC's Chang'e 3 lunar lander and explorer, claiming it is "faked". Laughably, some are using the already debunked "classic claims" from the Apollo days.

Of course, some asked if the Chang'e 3 could image the Apollo landing sites; when told that the nearest site was about 1000KM away, a HB posted "How convenient". Thus is the mind of a HB.

Congratulations to the PRC on a great achievement.

Out of curiosity... has anyone undergone a major shift in their opinions regarding the JFK assassination? From being a 'lone nutter' to belief in a conspiracy? From a belief in a conspiracy to a 'lone nutter'? Or perhaps a major shift in how you thought it was done (I don't know details so you'll have to decide what is a major shift)?

If so, what convinced you?

By past performance, I'm guessing this will be futile but.... this is your personal view. If someone says "I changed my opinion because of A" and you think A is completly bogus, please do NOT voice your view that A is bogus... just let people voice what shaped their opinions.

Thank you.

Hi Frank,

Wow! You have an incredible story; welcome to the Forum!

Hi Tom! Welcome to the Forum.

Sorry Ron, but that is not what it says. How can I say this? Because Mike Woods, one of the study's authors, says so:

Our recently published Frontiers study on online communication, “What about Building 7?” A social psychological study of online discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, has been the subject of some chatter on the Internet – but not quite in the way I had hoped. A story by Kevin Barrett on PressTV.ir has interpreted the study as showing that conspiracists are “more sane” than conventionalists, and, given that this is an appealing headline for long-suffering conspiracists, has been copy-pasted around the Internet in a highly uncritical fashion. I’m often guilty of this too – reading the headline and moving on – because who has the time to read every original source of every news story? In this case, of course, the paper says nothing of the sort and the [Kevin Barrett] article’s conclusions are based on misrepresentations of several critical findings.

(bolding mine)

Read more here: http://conspiracypsychology.com/2013/07/13/setting-the-record-straight-on-wood-douglas-2013/

Religion has caused more war and woe in this world than any other single cause; it should be a personal matter and never be a part of government.

See? You can't even get that right. Sheesh!

He'll be missed; I really enjoyed his books.

Indeed Evan... one of DPD's finest was supposed to have made a list of everyone in the theater at the time... a list that has disappeared of course....

David,

So the only recorded testimony is from the policemen themselves? No-one who claimed to be present ever disputed their version of events?

But LHO tried to shoot the police inside the theatre... that is not normal behaviour.

I would take Detective Cletus P Banjo and Officer Wife Beater at their word of course. The Dallas police circa 1963 were a pretty stand up buncha guys.

If they said it happened, it's true...LOL

What about the patrons in the theatre; they saw it, didn't they?

But LHO tried to shoot the police inside the theatre... that is not normal behaviour.

Spying is part of a government's business; they do it, we do it, everyone does it. It is part of that old axiom: trust but verify.

Steve,

I hardly bother replying to Truther claims anymore; the 9-11 'Truther' movement has been shown to be so wrong that to try and refute the majority of claims is like beating a dying rat with club.... it is simply not required.

Likewise, hundreds of thousands of people who used to be Truhers have shifted their opinion after the "Truth" movement has been shown to be anything but.

Let them rant away.... it won't change the facts.

When a forum member is banned for whatever reason, is it necessary to summarily delete all of his or her old posts?

Isn't that kind of Orwellian?

Dave

Apart from Peter - or if it is requested - I don't know of this happening. Even if requested, we really would prefer not to do that.

What instance were you refering to?

Pretty frightening, isn't it?

Doug,

I haven't got the time to listen to that interview right now but what is happening in the US with cities declaring themselves bankrupt? How many examples of this have there been? Surely employee pension rights, etc, have to be taken care of as part of any settlement?

Well, that wasn't very hard to predict, was it?

An independent UN report confirms that chemical weapons were used, beyond any doubt. Although not in the terms of reference, the evidence points towards the Syrian government being responsible. So now Russia says that the report is biased, fabricated, etc. Just as I said would happen.

What I didn't see was John Kerry making that big blunder, on how to "stop the attack". Russia was very quick to take advantage of that, as would anyone. That should have defused the situation quite rapidly but now the Syrians are now dragging their feet. That's giving the US renewed justification for military action.

Watch this space....