Tourism Confidence Falters; Calls for More Government Support Rise

[bradiston]

45 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Calling your Daddy names is just more proof.

You're not my Daddy.

[Evil Penevil]

On 10/8/2024 at 12:12 PM, bradiston said:

I said since October 7th, right?

 

Yes, you did, but you also included the aftermath of 9/11.  

 

On 10/7/2024 at 11:24 PM, bradiston said:

 It's Arabs and Muslims who have borne the brunt of hate crimes since October 7th, just as they did after 9/11. 

You are still mistaken in both cases.  Hate crimes against s and Muslims surged after 9/11 and Oct. 7, but still lagged behind the number of  hate crimes committed against Jews

 

In 2001,  anti-Islamic hate crimes against skyrocketed to 481 from 28 the year before,  still less than half the 1,043 anti-Jewish hate crimes.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/statistics-on-religious-hate-crimes

 

 

The FBI wrote in the Uniform Crime Reports for 2001:

                                                                                                                                   

"Another noticeable increase in 2001 was among religious-bias incidents. Anti-Islamic religion incidents were previously the second least reported, but in 2001, they became the second highest reported among religious-bias incidents (anti-Jewish religion incidents were the highest), growing by more than 1,600 percent over the 2000 volume. In 2001, reported data showed there were 481 incidents made up of 546 offenses having 554 victims of crimes motivated by bias toward the Islamic religion."

 

It also stated:

 

"A breakdown of the 2,118 victims of hate crimes motivated by religious bias showed that the majority of victims were Jewish, 56.5 percent.  Anti-Islamic bias accounted for 26.2 percent of victims of hate crimes motivated by religious bias, anti-Catholic bias accounted for 1.9 percent, antiProtestant 1.7 percent, and anti-atheism or antiagnosticism 0.2 percent. Biases directed at members of other religious groups and those directed at groups made up of individuals from various religious faiths accounted for 11.1 percent and 2.5 percent of the victims, respectively."

https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2001

 

The pattern was the same in the aftermath of the Oct. 7.  As the figures in my previous post indicated,  hate crimes against Muslims rose during the final three months of 2023, but nevertheless fell far short of hate crimes against Jews.  It's also important to note that these figures cover actions that meet the definition of hate crime in the U.S.  There have been thousands and thousands of unpleasant actions aimed at Jews which don't meet that definition.

 

"Since October 7, antisemitic hate speech has appeared online and offline, in countries around the world, and on occasion has been voiced by influential figures. Similarly, antisemitic threats, harassment, discrimination and violence have also been documented around the world. While the perpetrators of some of these antisemitic incidents appear to have been motivated primarily by events in Gaza, some incidents have been opportunistic and committed by actors who are taking advantage of widespread anti-Israel sentiment to propagate hateful stereotypes and conspiracies and calls for violence against Jews. 

"The emblematic examples of antisemitic hate speech, discrimination, and violence documented below are only a small subset of incidents of antisemitism that have occurred since October 7, 2023."

https://www.ajc.org/reports-and-emblematic-examples-of-antisemitic-hate-speech-and-violence-since-october-7

Edited 10 hours ago by Evil Penevil

[BruceWayne]

Galileo was considered a 'conspiracy theorist' until he was proven right.

 

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei stood trial against the Catholic Church in the seventeenth century for promoting the heliocentric (globe) model of the universe.

At the time EVERYONE KNEW the earth was flat.

Galileo was pventually put to death in 1633 for continuing to insist the world was round.

 

In 1992 the church finally admitted he was right:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13618460-600-vatican-admits-galileo-was-right/

 

Tonnes of examples of this sort of thing - even to this day.

I could bring up a list of probably incorrect received 'wisdom' but it would be against forum rules.

 

 

[BruceWayne]

On 10/7/2024 at 3:47 AM, Cory1848 said:

Graphic novelist Alan Moore put it best: “The truth is, that it is not the Jewish banking conspiracy, or the grey aliens, or the twelve-foot reptiloids from another dimension that are in control"

 

Also Alan Moore:

"LSD was an incredible experience. Not that I'm recommending it for anybody else; but for me it kind of – it hammered home to me that reality is not a fixed thing. That the reality that we saw about us every day was one reality, and a valid one – but that there were others, different perspectives where different things have meaning that were just as valid. That had a profound effect on me.

— Alan Moore (2003)

 

Not sure if he's jewish or not but he's written a gay jewish character into his work before.  Either way, he's a very spooky guy.

 

 

[BruceWayne]

On 10/6/2024 at 9:31 PM, Social Media said:

 

While much research has been dedicated to understanding why people believe conspiracy theories, a surprising revelation is that some individuals sharing these ideas online don’t even believe their own claims. Instead, these conspiracy spreaders are opportunists, using these theories as tools to manipulate others, stir conflict, and even make a profit.

 

 

These people are not motivated by genuine belief. They share conspiracy theories to cause chaos, radicalize followers, harass others, or simply seek attention. They thrive in an environment where falsehoods run rampant, and their insincerity makes them especially dangerous. There are several types of opportunistic conspiracy spreaders, each with their own agenda.

 

One of these groups includes extremists who share conspiracy theories as a recruitment tactic. According to research, certain extremist groups intentionally push these theories to lure in potential followers. They experiment with different ideas to see which ones resonate, hoping to create a so-called "gateway conspiracy" that will lead someone to further engagement and eventual radicalization. In fact, people who express positive feelings toward extremist groups are significantly more likely to knowingly share false information.

 

One example comes from a disinformation-monitoring company, Blackbird.AI, which tracked over 119 million COVID-19 conspiracy posts in 2020. Of these, more than 32 million were flagged as manipulative, with extremist groups, such as the Boogaloo Bois, responsible for spreading many of these lies. Members of this group generated over 610,000 tweets, with 58% of them aimed at incitement and radicalization. The insincerity of these posts becomes evident when members admit that they don’t actually believe in the theories they are promoting. As one Boogaloo member, Aron McKillips, bluntly put it: “I don’t believe in anything. I’m only here for the violence.”

 

Governments also exploit conspiracy theories for their own purposes. Russia’s 1903 fabrication, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” is a notorious example, and more recently, China created a fake conspiracy theory about the August 2023 Maui wildfire using artificial intelligence. Russia, in particular, has a long history of using conspiracy theories to fuel conflict. They spread falsehoods to support conflicting sides of contentious issues, intentionally sowing division. Unlike true believers who typically stick to one side of an issue, Russian disinformation campaigns are infamous for their “fire hose of falsehoods,” relentlessly spreading lies to create confusion and polarization. 

 

Another group, those with a "need for chaos," are individuals who share conspiracy theories for the thrill of causing disruption. These everyday trolls often don’t care whether the information they share is true or false—they simply want to wreak havoc. An example of this behavior was seen after the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump, when someone falsely identified the shooter online. The intent wasn’t to inform but to harass an innocent person whose photo had been stolen. This fake story was seen by over 300,000 people and further spread by others looking to fan the flames of confusion.

 

Profit-seeking individuals also play a large role in spreading conspiracy theories. These opportunists have something to gain, whether it be money, influence, or followers. For example, researchers identified 12 key figures responsible for the majority of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories online. Many of these individuals had a direct financial interest in continuing the spread of falsehoods. Alex Jones, a prominent conspiracy theorist, once boasted that his followers would "buy anything." Meanwhile, Fox News, in its coverage of the 2020 election, publicized false claims of voter fraud, despite internal communications revealing that their on-air personalities didn’t actually believe in the theories they were promoting.

 

Finally, some people share conspiracies simply for the attention. These common conspiracists may not have a financial motive but enjoy being part of a conversation. Many post content they don’t fully believe in, or even know is false, just to provoke reactions or to “stir the pot.” This behavior is rampant on social media, where some users, knowingly or not, contribute to the spread of misinformation for the sake of engagement.

 

The ultimate danger of these opportunists is that over time, they may even begin to believe their own lies. To justify their unethical behavior, they may convince themselves that their actions are acceptable or that the conspiracy theories were true all along. 

 

It’s essential to approach the content we encounter online with caution, recognizing that many of those spreading conspiracy theories don’t even believe what they’re saying. They want to manipulate and mislead, so it’s important not to fall into their trap. As one piece of advice wisely warns: “Be aware before you share.” Don’t let yourself become what these opportunists cynically refer to as a “useful idiot.”

 

Based on a report from The Conversation 2024-10-07

 

 

 

 

Nothing to see here... Move along now

 

Tuskegee Experiment in which a Govt programme offered blacks (safe & effective) vitamin injections (which were instead Syphillis - as part of an experiment) is the pick of the bunch imho 

 

 

 

[BruceWayne]

On 10/7/2024 at 8:18 PM, Evil Penevil said:

 

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a collection of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, some of which go back to the early days of Christianity.  What's most disturbing is that anti-Jewish tropes and canards have lasted not just for centuries but millenia and can be seen today on the pages of Asean Now.  Antisemitism has no basis in truth or fact and  has been refuted countless times, but still stubbornly occupies the minds of people who often claim not to be anti-Jewish.

 

"Sometimes called 'the longest hatred,' antisemitism has persisted in many forms for over two thousand years. The racial antisemitism of the National Socialists (Nazis) took hatred of Jews to a genocidal extreme, yet the Holocaust began with words and ideas: stereotypes, sinister cartoons, and the gradual spread of hate."   https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/antisemitism-in-history-from-the-early-church-to-1400  

 

Because The Protocols of the Elders of Zion  was so widely disseminated and believed, it played a role in the deaths of millions of Jews in the first half of the 20th century.  It is still read and distrubuted in the Middle East.  The original covenant of Hamas from 1988 makes mention of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion :  "The Zionist plan is limitless. After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion', and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying."

 

Thats bait 👆

 

Kissinger (Jewish) had some interesting things to say on the subject

 

 

With people like him running the country it's not surprising when people question the honesty of our leaders and media

 

Here's some choice ones.

 

 

RIP Heinz.

 

 

 

[BruceWayne]

On 10/7/2024 at 10:40 AM, connda said:

Conspiracy Theory is a pejorative used to dismiss anything but the "one and only one acceptable narrative" and to shut down all further discussion on a topic.  Essentially it's a form of censorship where all but one narrative is accepted and then anyone who disagrees is openly maligned as a "conspiracy theorist."

If you don't know where the term "conspiracy theory" originated, then you are probably a rather low-information clone who is too cucked to question authority. 

 

Excellent post.

 

For most it's too scary to realise how the world really works - allegedly.

 

As Dave Collum Professor, Cornell University said…

“I am a conspiracy theorist.

I believe that men and women of wealth and power, conspire.

If you don’t think so, you are what is called “an idiot

If you believe stuff but fear the label, you are what is called “a coward.”

 

Dr Shiva explains how 'elites' conspire (lit. 'breathe together) succinctly:

 

 

 

Edited 8 hours ago by BruceWayne

[bradiston]

2 hours ago, BruceWayne said:

Galileo was considered a 'conspiracy theorist' until he was proven right.

 

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei stood trial against the Catholic Church in the seventeenth century for promoting the heliocentric (globe) model of the universe.

At the time EVERYONE KNEW the earth was flat.

Galileo was pventually put to death in 1633 for continuing to insist the world was round.

 

In 1992 the church finally admitted he was right:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13618460-600-vatican-admits-galileo-was-right/

 

Tonnes of examples of this sort of thing - even to this day.

I could bring up a list of probably incorrect received 'wisdom' but it would be against forum rules.

 

 

Heliocentric isn't "flat earth". It's the theory that the sun is at the centre of the solar system (or universe), not the earth. Galileo wasn't a "flat earthist". He described the motion of the earth around the sun, rather than the sun around the earth. And it's incorrect to say "everyone knew the earth was flat". And Galileo wasn't "put to death". He died of natural causes in 1642 at his house in Tuscany.

 

And he wasn't considered a "conspiracy theorist". The idea of a spherical earth had been around for centuries, and that the earth moves, not the sun.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus

 

Some would say that the Catholic church is simply a conspiracy theory. What scientific basis is there for the resurrection, the miracles, the ascension, heaven and hell? If you want to believe in all that, religious tolerance allows you to do so. But climate change? COVID? Deep state? Qanon? When does a conspiracy theory become accepted as fact?

[Chomper Higgot]

3 hours ago, BruceWayne said:

Galileo was considered a 'conspiracy theorist' until he was proven right.

No he was not.

 

I suggest you look up the meaning of conspiracy.

[Chomper Higgot]

3 hours ago, BruceWayne said:

 

Nothing to see here... Move along now

 

Tuskegee Experiment in which a Govt programme offered blacks (safe & effective) vitamin injections (which were instead Syphillis - as part of an experiment) is the pick of the bunch imho 

 

 

 

Blatant lies.

 

The Tuskegee experimented did not offer or administer anyone injections of Syphilis.

Sufferers of the disease were given placebo drugs in place of effective treatments in order to observe and study the progress of the disease.

 

An abhorrent and shameful an episode of American history, which is all the more reason why you or anyone else should not lie about it.

 

[Yagoda]

13 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

You seem to be quite ignorant of history.

 

Explain why the Nazis put so many Socialist in concentration camps.

Bolsheviks. Not Socialists. Bolsheviks.

[Yagoda]

12 hours ago, bradiston said:

Don't lecture me! You're talking Pol Pot maybe. Hardly a shining example of socialism. What you claim is purely inflammatory polemic. I guess you really are a troll. Nothing to do with history! Have you registered as a foreign agent yet? You certainly talk like one. Pure agitprop.

 

The exploiting classes! That tells me you haven't a clue what you're talking about. You mean the bourgeoisie? Class war? I never read Hitler did anything of the sort. The capitalists at the time were necessary to bank roll his war. They survived very much intact and very much richer. Hardly a socialist outcome. You go read all those books you listed. I don't believe you've read a single one of them.

Well we all now YOU havent read them. So I guess I should move on, you dont have the necessary intellectual chops to make even a cogent argument

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Well we all now YOU havent read them. So I guess I should move on, you dont have the necessary intellectual chops to make even a cogent argument

You haven't read them and I know it! You're just a troll. You can't answer any questions. Yeah, move on. You've contributed absolutely nothing here except a pack of lies and disinformation. Your replies tell me your more than likely a 15 year old adolescent having a bit of fun. Can't even spell "know". No apostriphe in "havent" and "dont", and you say I don't have "the intellectual chops", whatever they are, to form an argument. Some intellect at work there! You're obviously not an academic, or in the least bit knowledgeable about Hitler and the Nazi party. Your polemic is based on a put down of Socialism, because you think the Nazi party was Socialist. But even by your own scant definitions, it patently wasn't. Yeah, leave. Time waster.

[Danderman123]

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Bolsheviks. Not Socialists. Bolsheviks.

Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, was built in March 1933 to imprison political opponents. The Communist Party (KPD) was banned in March 1933, trade unions were disbanded in May and the Social Democrats (SPD) abolished in June. Leaders of these parties and unions were arrested or fled into exile.

 

 

[Danderman123]

7 hours ago, BruceWayne said:

Galileo was considered a 'conspiracy theorist' until he was proven right.

 

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei stood trial against the Catholic Church in the seventeenth century for promoting the heliocentric (globe) model of the universe.

At the time EVERYONE KNEW the earth was flat.

Galileo was pventually put to death in 1633 for continuing to insist the world was round.

 

In 1992 the church finally admitted he was right:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13618460-600-vatican-admits-galileo-was-right/

 

Tonnes of examples of this sort of thing - even to this day.

I could bring up a list of probably incorrect received 'wisdom' but it would be against forum rules.

 

 

Scientists are the opposite of conspiracy theorists.

[mdr224]

5 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Scientists are the opposite of conspiracy theorists.

Everything being politically motivated these days, credibility of the conspiracies is catching up to “experts”

[Yagoda]

 

 

24 minutes ago, bradiston said:

You haven't read them and I know it! You're just a troll. You can't answer any questions. Yeah, move on. You've contributed absolutely nothing here except a pack of lies and disinformation. Your replies tell me your more than likely a 15 year old adolescent having a bit of fun. Can't even spell "know". No apostriphe in "havent" and "dont", and you say I don't have "the intellectual chops", whatever they are, to form an argument. Some intellect at work there! You're obviously not an academic, or in the least bit knowledgeable about Hitler and the Nazi party. Your polemic is based on a put down of Socialism, because you think the Nazi party was Socialist. But even by your own scant definitions, it patently wasn't. Yeah, leave. Time waster.

Nice tantrum screech. Im staying here, waiting for you to have the common courtesy and intellectual decency to read the sources that YOU requested. Let me make it easier why dont yopu just download:

 

https://ia801305.us.archive.org/27/items/HitlerTableTalk/Hitler TableTalk.pdf

 

and read critically. You can search for the terms Bolshevism and Socialism.

 

Oh, and if you were more educated on the subject, we could discuss the issue of Hitlers whereabouts and actions during the Munich Bolshevik revolution of 1918-19.

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Yagoda

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

 

 

Nice tantrum screech. Im staying here, waiting for you to have the common courtesy and intellectual decency to read the sources that YOU requested. Let me make it easier why dont yopu just download:

 

https://ia801305.us.archive.org/27/items/HitlerTableTalk/Hitler TableTalk.pdf

 

and read critically. You can search for the terms Bolshevism and Socialism.

 

Oh, and if you were more educated on the subject, we could discuss the issue of Hitlers whereabouts and actions during the Munich Bolshevik revolution of 1918-19.

 

 

I have absolutely no intention of taking any of your advice. It's patently obvious Nazism had next to nothing to do with socialism. Your own criterion - the only one you offered - that it involves the extermination of the exploiting classes, which I can only guess, you equate directly with The Final Program - doesn't hold any water. Hitler's rabid, pathological antisemitism was not a product of Marxist thinking around a class war, and is not shared by any political party that I know of, socialist or otherwise. Nor by any politician. The Nazi party was a "one off", never to be repeated, totalitarian vehicle for the promotion of German nationalism, racial superiority and antisemitism. Do you see any true socialist ideals in there? Any equivalence in the latter half of the 20th or early 21st centuries?

Edited 1 hour ago by bradiston

[Yagoda]

13 minutes ago, bradiston said:

 

I have absolutely no intention of taking any of your advice. It's patently obvious Nazism had next to nothing to do with socialism. Your own criterion - the only one you offered - that it involves the extermination of the exploiting classes, which I can only guess, you equate directly with The Final Program - doesn't hold any water. Hitler's rabid, pathological antisemitism was not a product of Marxist thinking around a class war, and is not shared by any political party that I know of, socialist or otherwise. Nor by any politician. The Nazi party was a "one off", never to be repeated, totalitarian vehicle for the promotion of German nationalism, racial superiority and antisemitism. Do you see any true socialist ideals in there? Any equivalence in the latter half of the 20th or early 21st centuries?

Hitler had no true Socialist ideas? Why do you advertise your ignorance?. Why dont you read a book and learn something instead of falling back on "patently obvious"? Obvious to who? You? You already confessed you have read nothing but Wikpedia so how are you even arguing the point? Because thats what they told you to believe?

 

Every statement you make on this subject should be prefaced by the words

 

"I havent read anything on the subject except Internet opinion and I am therefore ignorant of the subject matter, but Ill waste bandwidth anyway:"

 

Loads of your ilk should copy and use that.