Politics & Stuff

[cosmicway 1,323]

4 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pederastic_erotic_scene_Louvre_F85bis.jpg

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Art_grècia.jpg

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Clarke_Ars_Erotica_62.jpg

Are these cups, paintings, coins from BC also propaganda created by Germans and Stalin? Many ancient Greek philosophers and historians wrote about this. 

Plutarch for example wrote about army of male lovers 'Sacred Band of Thebes'.

Pluto, Lucian and other authors as well. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_ancient_Greece#:~:text=During these times%2C homosexuality was,and%2C in fact%2C perverse.

 

No they had an offense called "arsenokoitia" which means "male sleeping with male".
This was punishable by death.
Lesbianism was not known to the ancient Greeks.
The various images indicate that they had a different conception od decency not that homosexuality was approved.
Anyway as homosexuality was considered criminal close to our time, the German Falmeraier school and Stalin wanted to defame Greece

From Quora:
 

Actually being homosexual was condemned by law in Ancient Greece.

I dont know why people here that have phd in plilosophy do not state Solon Laws in book 5, chapter 5, article 332. They are quite clear in the consequences if an Athenian had a relationship with a man.

These are the laws and the consequences in Ancient Greek if someone has a homosexual relationship.

“Αν τις Αθηναίος εταιρήση, με έξεστω αυτω των εννέα αρχόντων γενέσθαι, μηδέ ιερωσύνην ιερώσασθαι, μηδέ συνδικήσαι τω δήμω, μηδέ αρχήν αρχέτω μηδεμιάν, μήτε ενδημον, μήτε υπερόριον, μήτε κληρωτήν, μήτε χειροτονητήν, μηδέ επικυρήκειαν αποστελλέσθω, μηδέ γνώμην λεγέτω, μηδέ εις τα δημοτελή ιερά εισίτω, μηδέ εν ταις κοιναίς σταφονοφορίες σταφανούσθω, μηδέ εντός των της αγοράς περιρραντηριων πορευέσθω.Εάν δε ταύτα τις ποιή,καταγνωσθέντως αυτού εταιρείν, θανάτω ζημιούσθω.”

What it states is:

If an Athenean εταιρήση (makes mate) he will not be allowed to become member of the 9 lords, he will be able to become a priest, he will not be able to become an advocate of the people, he will have no authority inside our outside of athens, he cannot become a war preacher, will not be able to express his opinion, will not be allowed to enter the sacred public temples, will not be able to take walks happening in Agora and lastly it says whichever citizen is condemned as an erotical person with the sex of the same gender and ignores any of these laws is punishable by death.

So if you are condemned as “gay” or had a homosexual intercourse and take a walk in agora or express your opinion in an important matter you are condemned to death.

Moreover Aeschines a greek statesman and one of the 10 attic orators condemns with clarity the legislative (prohibitive) framework for homosexuality.

Edited February 22 by cosmicway

[Vesper 28,767]

1 hour ago, cosmicway said:

Lesbianism was not known to the ancient Greeks.

OMG

where do you think the words lesbian and sapphic came from??

The word lesbian is the demonym of the Greek island of Lesbos, home to the 6th-century BCE poet Sappho. From various ancient writings, historians gathered that a group of young women were left in Sappho's charge for their instruction or cultural edification. Little of Sappho's poetry survives, but her remaining poetry reflects the topics she wrote about: women's daily lives, their relationships, and rituals. She focused on the beauty of women and proclaimed her love for girls.

 

Sappho’s homoerotic poetry was beloved in ancient Greece – and burned centuries later

https://aeon.co/videos/sapphos-homoerotic-poetry-was-beloved-in-ancient-greece-and-burned-centuries-later

Living on the island of Lesbos around 600 BCE, Sappho was a priestess lyric poet who wrote and sang eloquently on themes of love, passion and longing. Her work and influence spread across ancient Greece. Plato called her ‘the tenth Muse’ and her likeness appeared on coins. However, only small fragments of her work have survived the passage of time and the actions of those once tasked with preserving it. This animation from TED-Ed details Sappho’s influence, life and work, and the many mysteries that still surround her. In particular, the video explores why the erotic and homoerotic themes in her poetry would eventually lead to its destruction, and how her life inspired the word ‘lesbian’.

 

[lucio 5,418]

The Romans called male homosexuality practiced with adolescents or, more precisely, ephebic love, the "Greek vice" (Horace, Ep. 2, 1, 156). They rightly said that it was unknown in more ancient Roman times. It was something totally foreign to the traditional Roman mentality; therefore they absolutely condemned it. However in Horace's time it had gained a certain foothold in Rome, where it took various forms. Cicero wrote: "It seems to me that this habit of loving boys originated in the Greek gymnasiums, where these love affairs are free and tolerated"

 

 

[cosmicway 1,323]

I can imagine why homosexuality became a "forbidden fruit" in one way or another.
A Cassius Clay size out of the middle of nowhere can have some pretty disturbing effects.

[Vesper 28,767]

Israeli video trend mocks Palestinians’ suffering | Al Jazeera Newsfeed

 

[Vesper 28,767]

Alabama drivers licence.

 

 

Shock, anger, confusion grip Alabama after court ruling on embryos

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/02/20/alabama-supreme-court-ivf-embryos/

 

Alabama doctors are puzzled over whether they will have to make changes to in vitro fertilization procedures. Couples have crammed into online support groups wondering if they should transfer frozen embryos out of state. And attorneys are warning that divorce settlements that call for frozen embryos to be destroyed may now be void.

Throughout Alabama, there is widespread shock, anger and confusion over how to proceed after the state Supreme Court ruled Friday that frozen embryos are people, a potentially far-reaching decision that could upend women’s reproductive health care in a state that already has one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws.

“Women who actually know what happened, they feel under attack and almost powerless,” said AshLeigh Meyer Dunham, a Birmingham mother who conceived a child through in vitro fertilization and is a partner in a law firm that specializes in assisted reproductive technology cases. “First you had the Dobbs decision and now this. What does this even mean?”

The state Supreme Court decision signals a new chapter in America’s fight over reproductive rights and marks another blow to women’s rights groups that expect similar challenges in other conservative states. The ruling is limited to Alabama, but legal experts say it could embolden the “personhood movement,” which asserts that unborn children should be granted legal rights beginning at conception.

The decision was decried Tuesday by the White House.

“This is exactly the type of chaos that we expected when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and paved the way for politicians to dictate some of the most personal decisions families can make,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with President Biden.

Interviews with physicians and attorneys in Alabama, as well as advocates on both sides of the issue nationwide, paint a confusing path forward for IVF clinics trying to interpret the ramifications of the ruling. Although physicians hope the Alabama legislature will limit the impacts of the ruling, they warn that the most dire consequence of the ruling is that some Alabama IVF clinics may be forced to suspend their operations.

And even if they remain operational, physicians say patients could have to endure longer — and more costly — treatments to try to achieve a pregnancy.

“Under the current Alabama ruling, patients nor physicians nor IVF labs are going to be willing to have frozen embryos,” said Mamie McLean, a physician at one of the state’s largest fertility clinics, Alabama Fertility Specialists. “So if we are faced with two potential embryos that need to be transferred, modern practice would say transfer one and freeze one. But under this ruling, it may not be safe to freeze embryos so we will be forced to transfer two embryos … which increases the lifelong health risks to both mothers and children.”

The challenge to IVF in Alabama comes as the number of pregnancies conceived through the procedure has soared over the past decade. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 97,128 infants were born nationwide via IVF in 2021, the last year for which statistics were available. There are 453 IVF clinics nationwide, and every state except Wyoming has at least one clinic.

Jennifer Lincoln, a board certified OB/GYN who practices in Portland, Ore., said she doesn’t think people understand how “scary” the Alabama ruling is. She raised a common scenario: A patient undergoing IVF has an egg retrieval that leads to the creation of multiple embryos, with the hope that at least one turns into a live birth. If successful, the remaining embryos remain frozen for possible future use — but not all may be used.

“If someone has five embryos left and they decide not to have any more kids and want those embryos destroyed — and someone in that physician’s office hears that, could [the doctor] be criminalized for being an accomplice in a crime?” Lincoln asked.

What Alabama’s frozen embryos ruling means for IVF across the U.S.

The Alabama ruling is the first to attribute human rights to a developing organism at such an early stage following conception. The ruling states that “unborn children are ‘children,’” and that frozen embryos should be afforded the same protection as babies under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, a national antiabortion organization, heralded the court for showing “moral clarity” in ruling that the unborn deserve the same rights as children.

“You have children being created in petri dishes at will and then destroyed at will and used for experimentation,” Rose said. “It’s not acceptable to leave human beings on ice. It’s not acceptable to destroy them. These are not commodities.”

Katie O’Connor, director of federal abortion policy at the National Women’s Law Center, says the ruling will immediately disrupt reproductive care in Alabama because hospitals and doctors will be unclear about what they can and can’t do in terms of fertility treatments.

“Doctors are going to decide that these questions surrounding fertility treatments are not easily answerable and that the work is just too risky to do with the state,” said O’Connor, who predicted the Alabama decision will probably inspire antiabortion activists to push for similar protections in other states.

McLean, the Alabama doctor, cautions she is not yet ready to accept “the worst case scenario” that would result in clinics closing and patients being forced to receive treatment in other states. She expects Alabama’s medical community will be able to work with legislators and judges to carve out a middle ground that enables IVF treatments to continue.

Still, McLean blasted the ruling, saying it was not “grounded in medicine.”

“Unfortunately, this has become a political debate, but in reality this is a medical debate, and how we are able to practice medical care as physicians,” McLean said.

If no concessions to the court ruling are made, McLean said it could cost Alabama women more money because some doctors might only be willing to retrieve a limited number of eggs. In a typical IVF cycle, doctors stimulate the ovaries to produce as many mature eggs as possible. Those eggs are then fertilized in a lab and, if successful, turn into embryos. Multiple embryos are often needed to produce a single live birth.

“If we are to say, ‘Okay, I can fertilize two eggs instead of 10,’ we may not end up with any embryos or end up with an unhealthy embryo, so patients may need multiple egg retrievals to achieve the same pregnancy rate that we were trying to achieve with one retrieval,” McLean said. “Multiple attempts at retrieval will cost more money.”

McLean added she worries insurance companies could balk at those costs. She also worries that medical malpractice costs could go up and that it will become harder to attract physicians to the state.

“So, yes, there is a scenario where this closes fertility clinics in the state,” McLean said. “But we remain hopeful and absolutely expect a different path forward.”

Dunham, the Birmingham attorney, is even more pessimistic about the implications of the ruling. She noted that an online infertility support group she is a part of is already buzzing with discussion from Alabama couples about how to ship their frozen embryos out of state. It costs about $1,500 to mail the embryos to labs in Georgia or another state, but Dunham noted that many labs elsewhere are already facing strains on their storage capacities.

On Tuesday, Dunham said she was also fielding questions from divorce attorneys about whether settlement agreements that call for the destruction of a couple’s embryos can remain valid. The decision could also have implications for genetic testing of embryos, she said. Many patients rely on screening embryos to identify and prevent passing along genetic conditions.

Such testing can also identify which embryos have a normal number of chromosomes and are less likely to result in a miscarriage.

“If someone has a recurrent miscarriage, it could be due to a genetic disorder,” Dunham said. “You end up creating multiple embryos, and they usually genetically test to see which one has the best chance of making it.

“But if you say these are children, and they can’t be destroyed — we are looking at maybe not being able to test it, because it could hurt the embryo,” she said.

Even outside of Alabama, the ruling is causing an additional stress for IVF patients already undergoing an anxiety-inducing process.

Audra Stark, 40, has an 8-month-old daughter she conceived through IVF and calls it one of the most “mentally traumatic experiences” of her life. The Virginia mother went through the process three years ago after her physician told her she wasn’t able to ovulate and ended up freezing four embryos in hopes of growing her family.

When she heard about the Alabama news, Stark said she immediately wondered which state would follow.

“It’s scary because I think it’s going to be like dominoes falling,” Stark said. “I think it’s going to be like abortion restrictions where we’re going to see huge swaths of the country without access to these services.”

[cosmicway 1,323]

[Fernando 6,453]

UN is a joke. 

2 years and Russia still destroying Ukraine. 

All they do is talk and no action. 

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,919]

On 25/02/2024 at 10:03, Fernando said:

UN is a joke. 

2 years and Russia still destroying Ukraine. 

All they do is talk and no action. 

Would you be prepared to send your kids to die protecting Ukraine?

[cosmicway 1,323]

On 25/02/2024 at 17:03, Fernando said:

UN is a joke. 

2 years and Russia still destroying Ukraine. 

All they do is talk and no action. 

UN ?
Can UN move unless USA-Russia and China agree for it to move ?
USA could have prevented all this.
Just send some troops there in 2022 when Putin encircled Ukraine.
He would n't dare move, not a chance in a quadrillion.
Before that Putin was observing the situation. In August 2021 he saw how the US abandoned Afghanistan. That encouraged him, then after the so called talks with Liz Truss (!) representing NATO he became sure he could invade and started the invasion. Now it is of course a desperate battle, if the objective is to drive him out from all the occupied Ukrainian lands including Crimea,

But is there a chance USA deliberately allowed this to happen ?
The war and the sanctions are weakening Russia and Russia's international standing,
Without it Putin could n't get Donbass but he would be miles better of.

What did the Americans say in February 2022 ?
They said "American soldiers must not stand against Russian soldiers as this will lead to escalation and a possible world war".
But now is n't America confronting Russia in Ukraine and can this not lead to escalation and world war in the same way ?
So the excuse offered was a frivolous excuse.

Edited February 27 by cosmicway

[robsblubot 3,502]

1 hour ago, Sir Mikel OBE said:

Would you be prepared to send your kids to die protecting Ukraine?

Yup it's complicated... the cost is always high.
We won't have a whole lot of choice If Russia does not stop with Ukraine tho.

Trump is another variable -- Putin may feel encouraged to keep going with Trump as the US pres.

Edited February 26 by robsblubot

[Fernando 6,453]

4 hours ago, Sir Mikel OBE said:

Would you be prepared to send your kids to die protecting Ukraine?

It's that or let Russia completely take out of the map Ukraine...

And Russia will get more stronger if they take Ukraine, not good for anyone in the long term. 

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,919]

17 hours ago, Fernando said:

It's that or let Russia completely take out of the map Ukraine...

And Russia will get more stronger if they take Ukraine, not good for anyone in the long term. 

Or how about other countries send people instead of just relying on one country to heavy lift?

I mean we have Europeans in this very thread saying:

 

 

20 hours ago, cosmicway said:

UN ?
Can UN move unless USA-Russia and China agree for it to move ?
USA could have prevented all this.
Just send some troops there in 2022 when Putin encircled Ukraine.
He would n't dare move, not a chance in a quadrillion.
 

Its US bodies who have to die for other peoples wills. Thats acceptable.

We are a country with out of control inflation, a horrible safety net, and a job market that is on its knees despite what report says about a bunch of part time jobs nobody could live on. On top of this we have a world which, honestly, seems fit to feed us and our kids into an endless blender of wars. How much longer would you @Fernandobe willing to throw your own kids into the grinder of war? While places in Europe and Israel have free healthcare and a higher standard of living than your own?

[Fernando 6,453]

4 hours ago, Sir Mikel OBE said:

Or how about other countries send people instead of just relying on one country to heavy lift?

I mean we have Europeans in this very thread saying:

 

 

Its US bodies who have to die for other peoples wills. Thats acceptable.

We are a country with out of control inflation, a horrible safety net, and a job market that is on its knees despite what report says about a bunch of part time jobs nobody could live on. On top of this we have a world which, honestly, seems fit to feed us and our kids into an endless blender of wars. How much longer would you @Fernandobe willing to throw your own kids into the grinder of war? While places in Europe and Israel have free healthcare and a higher standard of living than your own?

Well that is true. 

The Europeans and what not are tired of USA intervention. 

So it's up to them. So again going back to my main argument, UN, and EU are bunch of worthless. All they do is talk and no action. 

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,919]

57 minutes ago, Fernando said:

Well that is true. 

The Europeans and what not are tired of USA intervention. 

So it's up to them. So again going back to my main argument, UN, and EU are bunch of worthless. All they do is talk and no action. 

Why would they be tired of the intervention? 

 

You think they want to send their boys to die in Ukraine? Or to give up a robust safety net to fund a military capable enough of deterring those who bring harm?

Its a sweet deal as long as you are willing to feed your kid into the grinder. As long as you are willing to give other countries millions while kids here starve,  or as long as you are content with your healthcare being tied to whether or not you are able to keep your boss happy. 

[cosmicway 1,323]

5 hours ago, Sir Mikel OBE said:

Or how about other countries send people instead of just relying on one country to heavy lift?

I mean we have Europeans in this very thread saying:

 

 

Its US bodies who have to die for other peoples wills. Thats acceptable.

We are a country with out of control inflation, a horrible safety net, and a job market that is on its knees despite what report says about a bunch of part time jobs nobody could live on. On top of this we have a world which, honestly, seems fit to feed us and our kids into an endless blender of wars. How much longer would you @Fernandobe willing to throw your own kids into the grinder of war? While places in Europe and Israel have free healthcare and a higher standard of living than your own?

The point is he would n't have dared.
Now it's war.

[Vesper 28,767]

So sick of the US, Russia, China, and Israel. 

Plus Brexit cunts/Tories, and RW-led Swedish governments.

I am burnt out. 😞

 

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,919]

4 hours ago, cosmicway said:

The point is he would n't have dared.
Now it's war.

He wouldn't dare, but if he did?

 

Those are real kids you would be gambling on, which is much easier when it isnt your kids.