Then Samson said, "With an ass's jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With an ass's jawbone I have killed a thousand men."
Communism
Russia: bad idea
Ukraine: bad idea
Belarus: bad idea
The Baltic states: bad idea
Kazakstan: bad idea
Uzbekistan: bad idea
Kyrgyzstan: bad idea
Poland: bad idea
Former Yugoslavian nations: bad idea
Romania: bad idea
Bulgaria: bad idea
Germany: bad idea
Czech Republic: bad idea
Vietnam: bad idea
Cambodia: bad idea
Tumblrinas: it could work
Democratic socialism/soci
Denmark: Good idea.
Finland: Good idea.
Norway: Good idea.
Switzerlland: Good idea.
New Zealand: Good idea.
Scandanavian countries: Good idea.
America under New Deal regulations and Eisenhower tax rates; Good idea, helped build the biggest middle class in the world, sent us to the moon, and made our education system the envy of the world.
Right wing retards under failing trickle down economical schemes, privatization, and Miltonism: BAD IDEA! WHAT WE HAVE ISN’T WORKING AND SOCIALISM SOUNDS SCURRY TO US HUR DURR I’M FUCKING RETARDED
The old gods are calling, can you hear their song? Embrace your lust and come with me to the woods...
In Crockpot.
Put in two cans of apple pie filling.
Layer spice cake filling over it.
Put in 8 oz of butter on top of the spice cake layer, don't mix.
Bake on high for 2-2.5 hours.
Take out and eat with ice cream.
Mmm.
Nope , when you factor in things like job choice , hours worked , and use the median wage , instead of the average wage , its at most a five cent gap
Reconcile with your petty Gods, for all shall perish in the coming tempest.
WHY VEGAN DIETS SUCK
There is no one right way to eat for everyone.
We are all different and what works for one person may not work for the next.
I personally advocate consumption of both animals and plants and I think there is plenty of evidence that this is a reasonable way to eat.
However, I often get comments from vegans who think that people should eliminate all animal foods.
They frequently say that I'm giving out dangerous advice, that I must be corrupt and sponsored by the meat and dairy industry, or that I'm simply misinformed and need to read The China Study. (https://en.wik
Really… I have nothing against vegans or vegetarians.
If you want to eat in this way for whatever reason and you are feeling good and improving your health, then great! Keep on doing what you're doing.
But I do have a serious problem when proponents of this diet are using lies and fear mongering to try and convince everyone else to eat in the same way.
I'm tired of having to constantly defend my position regarding animal foods, so I decided to summarize what I think are the key problems with vegan diets.
Here are 5 reasons why I think vegan (as in no animal foods at all) diets are a bad idea…
1. Vegans are deficient in many important nutrients.
Humans are omnivores. We function best eating both animals and plants.
There are some nutrients that can only be gotten from plants (like Vitamin C) and others that can only be gotten from animals.
Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin (https://en.wik
It is particularly important in the formation of blood and the function of the brain.
Because B12 is critical for life and isn't found in any amount in plants (except some types of algae), it is by far the most important nutrient that vegans must be concerned with.
In fact, B12 deficiency is very common in vegans, one study showing that a whopping 92% of vegans are deficient in this critical nutrient (1).
But B12 is just the tip of the iceberg… there are other lesser known nutrients that are only found in animal foods and are critical for optimal function of the body.
Here are a few examples:
Animal protein contains all the essential amino acids in the right ratios. It is important for muscle mass and bone health, to name a few. Vegans don't get any animal protein (http://authori
Creatine helps form an energy reservoir in cells. Studies show that vegetarians are deficient in creatine, which has harmful effects on muscle (http://authori
Carnosine is protective against various degenerative processes in the body and may protect against aging. It is found only in animal foods (http://link.sp
Docosahexaenoi
Two other nutrients that have been demonized by vegan proponents are saturated fat and cholesterol. (http://authori
Cholesterol is a crucial molecule in the body and is part of every cell membrane. It is also used to make steroid hormones like testosterone (http://www.mar
Not surprisingly, vegans and vegetarians have much lower testosterone levels than meat eaters (http://www.ncb
Bottom line: Vegans are deficient in many important nutrients, including Vitamin B12 and Creatine. Studies show that vegans have much lower testosterone levels than their meat-eating counterparts.
2. There are no studies showing that they're better than other diets.
Despite what vegan proponents often claim, there are no controlled trials showing that these diets are any better than other diets.
They often claim that low-carb, high-fat diets (the opposite of vegan diets) are dangerous and that the evidence clearly shows vegan diets to be superior.
I disagree.
This has actually been studied in a high quality randomized controlled trial (the gold standard of science) (http://authori
The A to Z study (https://www.yo
This study clearly shows that the Atkins diet causes greater improvements in pretty much all health markers, although not all of them were statistically significant:
The Atkins group lost more weight (http://authori
The Atkins group had greater decreases in blood pressure.
The Atkins group had greater increases in HDL (the "good") cholesterol.
The Atkins group had greater decreases in Triglycerides. They went down by 29.3 mg/dL on Atkins, only 14.9 mg/dL on Ornish.
Then the Atkins dieters were about twice as likely to make it to the end of the study, indicating that the Atkins diet was easier to follow (http://authori
Put simply, the Atkins diet had several important advantages (http://authori
Now, there are some studies showing health benefits and lower mortality in vegetarians and vegans, such as the Seventh-Day Adventist Studies (https://en.wik
The problem with these studies is that they are so-called observational studies (http://authori
The vegetarians are probably healthier because they are more health conscious overall, eat more vegetables, are less likely to smoke, more likely to exercise, etc. It has nothing to do with avoiding animal foods.
In another study of 10,000 individuals, where both the vegetarians and non-vegetarian
One controlled trial showed that a vegan diet was more effective against diabetes than the official diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (http://www.ncb
However, a low-carb diet has also been studied (http://authori
A vegan diet may be better than the typical low-fat diet (http://authori
Bottom line: Despite all the propaganda, there isn't any evidence that vegan diets are any better than other diets. Most of the studies are observational in nature.
3. Proponents of vegan diets use lies and fear mongering to promote their cause.
Some vegan proponents aren't very honest when they try to convince others of the virtues of the vegan diet.
They actively use lies and fear mongering to scare people away from fat and animal foods.
Despite all the propaganda, there really isn't any evidence (http://authori
People who promote vegan diets should be more honest and not use scare tactics and lies to make people feel guilty about eating animal foods, which are perfectly healthy (if unprocessed and naturally fed). (http://authori
I'd also like to briefly mention The China Study… which is the holy bible of veganism and apparently "proves" that vegan diets are the way to go.
This was an observational study performed by a scientist who was madly in love with his theories. He cherry picked the data from the study to support his conclusions and ignored the data that didn't fit.
The main findings of the China study have been thoroughly debunked.
I recommend you look at these two critiques:
-Denise Minger: The China Study – Fact or Fallacy (http://rawfood
-Chris Masterjohn: What Dr. Campbell Won't Tell You About The China Study (http://www.cho
Also… a new study from China came out very recently, directly contradicting the findings of the China study.
According to this study, men eating red meat had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and women eating red meat had a lower risk of cancer (http://ajcn.nu
Bottom line: Vegan proponents often use fear mongering and scare tactics in order to convince people not to eat animal foods. They frequently cite The China Study as evidence, which has been thoroughly debunked.
4. Vegan diets may work in the short term, for other reasons.
If you look at vegan message boards, you will quickly find stories of people who have seen amazing health benefits on a vegan diet.
I've got no reason to believe that these people are lying.
But it's important to keep in mind that this is anecdotal evidence, which isn't science. (https://en.wik
You will find the same kinds of success stories for pretty much any diet.
Then you'll also find tons of people saying they got terrible results on a vegan diet.
Personally, I think that vegan diets can have health benefits for a lot of people… at least in the short term, before the nutrient deficiencies kick in (which can be partly circumvented by supplementatio
However, I don't think this has anything to do with avoiding animal foods!
Vegan diets don't just recommend that people avoid animal foods. They also recommend that people avoid added sugars (http://authori
Then they suggest that people stop smoking and start exercising. There are so many confounders here that can easily explain all the beneficial effects.
These are extremely unhealthy foods, that's something the vegans and I agree on (http://authori
I am 100% certain that a plant-based diet that includes at least a little bit of animals (the occasional whole egg or fatty fish, for example) will be much healthier in the long-term than a diet that eliminates animal foods completely.
Bottom line: Vegan diets also recommend that people shun added sugar, refined carbohydrates, vegetable oils and trans fats. This is probably the reason for any health benefits, not the removal of unprocessed animal foods.
5. There is NO health reason to completely avoid animal foods.
Humans have been eating meat for hundreds of thousands (or millions) of years.
We evolved this way. (http://authori
Our bodies are perfectly capable of digesting, absorbing and making full use of the many beneficial nutrients found in animal foods.
It is true that processed meat causes harm and that it's disgusting the way "conventionall
However, animals that are fed natural diets (like grass-fed cows) and given access to the outdoors are completely different.
Even though processed meat causes harm, which is supported by many studies, the same does NOT apply to natural, unprocessed meat.
Unprocessed red meat (http://authori
It has only a very weak link with an increased risk of cancer and this is probably caused by excessive cooking, not the meat itself (http://www.ncb
Saturated fat has also never been proven to lead to heart disease. A study of almost 350 thousand individuals found literally no association between saturated fat consumption and cardiovascular disease (http://ajcn.nu
Studies on eggs show no effect either. Multiple long-term studies have been conducted on egg consumption, which are very rich in cholesterol, and found no negative effects (http://www.bmj
The thing is that animal foods… meat, fish, eggs and dairy products for those who can tolerate them, are extremely nutritious.
They are loaded with high quality protein, healthy fats(http://authori
There may be ethical or religious reasons not to eat animals… I get it. But there is no scientifically valid health reason to completely eliminate animal foods.
Take home message:
At the end of the day, the optimal diet (http://authori
This includes age, gender, activity levels, current metabolic health, food culture and personal preference.
Vegan diets may be appropriate for some people, not others. Different strokes for different folks.
If you want to eat a vegan diet, then make sure to be prudent about your diet. Take the necessary supplements and read some of the books by the vegan docs, I'm sure they at least know how to safely apply a vegan diet.
If you're getting results, feeling good and are managing to stick to your healthy lifestyle, then that's great. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.
But don't use fear mongering and scare tactics to persuade people to join your cause and scare them away from perfectly healthy animal foods. That ain't cool.
Mini masterpost about the problems with circumcision:
Circumcision decreases penile sensitivity (http://www.ncb
Circumcision associated with sexual difficulties (http://www.ncb
Circumcision linked to alexithymia (http://mensstu
The exaggeration of the benefits of circumcision in regards to HIV/AIDS transmission (http://jme.bmj
There is no case for the widespread implementation of circumcision as a preventative measure to stop transmission of AIDS/HIV (http://onlinel
Circumcision decreases sexual pleasure (http://www.ncb
Circumcision decreases efficiency of nerve response in the glans of the penis (http://www.ncb
Circumcision policy is influenced by psychosocial factors rather than alleged health benefits (http://www.cir
Circumcision linked to pain, trauma, and psychosexual sequelae (http://www.cir
Circumcision results in significant loss of erogenous tissue (http://www.ncb
Circumcision has negligible benefit (http://www.ncb
Neonatal circumcision linked to pain and trauma (http://www.ncb
Circumcision may lead to need for increased care and medical attention in the first 3 years of life (http://www.ncb
Circumcision linked to psychological trauma (http://www.cir
Circumcision may lead to abnormal brain development and subsequent deviations in behavior (http://www.ncb
The exaggeration of the benefits of circumcision in regards to HIV/AIDS transmission (http://jme.bmj
There is no case for the widespread implementation of circumcision as a preventative measure to stop transmission of AIDS/HIV (http://onlinel
Religion does three things to people quite effectively: controls them, divides them, and deludes them.
http://www.sal
I can’t find any evidence or eyewitness accounts of this happening. Only apologetic statements offered by United Airlines, which were probably only released to protect their image. Had they tried to deny it, they would’ve been accused of racism and Islamophobia. So they took the easy option and apologised for an incident that, in all likelihood, did not occur. Even her preening account, apparently written and posted mid flight, reeks of lies.
It has the well rehearsed, detailed, faultless aura that so many fake Tumblr stories have, much like the infamous ‘whole train started applauding’ type of posts. A big evil man stares her straight in the eyes and shouts obscenities at her while insulting her faith. The man next to her gets a beer while she isn’t even afforded the chance to have a soda. The comparison between beer and soda isn’t accidental either. It makes her seem innocent and childlike and thus more sympathetic. All she wanted was a Diet Coke and was denied, while the man next to her was given alcohol without hassle.
Then to top it all off, there’s a catchy hashtag. How convenient. A memorable hashtag to end her story with. This is a clear attempt to gain sympathy and to spread her victim narrative. In the same way that the #illridewithyo
Also, no stewardess is dumb enough to think that a can of Coke can be used as a weapon, especially since the drinks provided on planes have already passed through security and thus would not be a danger. Anyone who works with air travel is extensively trained in passenger safety and airline workers are well aware of the risks associated with terrorism. No one rigorously trained in both airport security and customer interaction is going to accuse a paying passenger of wanting to use a can of Diet Coke as a weapon.
Furthermore, no one who is shaken, upset and in tears from being aggressively humiliated would write a heavily detailed, calm and well written account in a matter of minutes. They wouldn’t be in the right frame of mind to do so. Reading her Facebook post, it’s clear that it was not written by someone who had just experienced a large degree of public emotional humiliation.
It would appear that my suspicions are also backed up by this account of the incident in question. I can’t verify that the passenger in that link was actually on the same flight but their account certainly seems to correspond neatly with my own deductions about this woman. Apparently, Tahera Ahmad views herself as some sort of activist, which explains why she felt so compelled to concoct a pathetic sob story to push her agenda. What’s worse is that her dumb story was covered on a huge show with millions of gullible viewers. Disgusting.
Echos of past events
nudge the tiller on
my present course
I await its reflection
in the future
Biggest problems male face today-
Selective service: If someone in the United States is born male, from the age of eighteen to twenty-six they are considered government property. If World War III broke out right now, the government can take any born male they want, including (but not limited to): trans women (http://transeq
Circumcision: It’s male genital mutilation, let’s be frank about it. Female genital mutilation is completely illegal in first world countries, while circumcision is still legal. It has little to no health benefits (http://www.int
False rape claims: Here’s a post debunking the “it’s only two percent” claim (http://realsex
Actual rape: Even by conservative numbers, male rape victims in prisons far outnumber female rape victims (http://www.nyb
Domestic violence: Men want equal treatment when victims of domestic violence, and to not be arrested for the crime of “being male” under primary aggressor policies. Some feminists fought against this (http://pubpage
Parental rights: Currently, in the United States, a man has two options if he gets a woman pregnant: pay child support and just assume it goes to supporting that child or go to prison. In France, a male asking for a paternity test is against the law (http://www.avo
This is a link to my favorite article by Paul Elam, who has written some great articles about men’s problems (http://www.avo
TL;DR, men have problems, too. This is not meant to take away from female problems, but to bring attention to the issues men face. Empathy and awareness are not a finite resources to be distributed with care; silencing entire demographics just creates resentment and a rift where one need not.
heh
Does the black moon howl?
this asks more questions than it answers. they don’t really have vestigial legs, like those aren’t even motile fins, so why do they still have fully formed hips, why hasn’t the pelvic bone changed significantly? and where did the tail come from?
[proto whale]
[orca skelly]
whales as we know them evolved from land animals that went back out to sea, and it’s all spine all the way down to the tail fin. the pelvis is vestigial to the point of being tiny and unrecognizable
[walrus skelly]
which brings us to the walrus. as you can see the skeletal structure and the external appearance are fairly ursiform - the rear legs are basically still in there forming the tail, and the pelvis is intact, and above that it may as well still be a land animal. if mermaids did exist, as hominids who went back out to sea, and if they hadn’t evolved into basically dolphins, then a walrus skeletal system, complete with vestigial thigh bones inside a kind of muscle skirt, and with significant fat and blubber deposits //on the main body// would be most likely. which is to say, mermaids with human torsos and seagoing lower bodies would waddle around on their tails, have clearly defined thigh structures, and would be a hell of a lot rounder above and about the waist than they’re usually depicted.
which begs the question, then, if you see a mermaid and it’s a skinny little thing with a slinky waist and an eel-like tail and a perfect bosom and a coy smile, //why does it look like that//? because whatever that is? it is not a land animal that readapted to the sea. it is not your distant kin. it is a sea creature that adapted //to get your attention//.
maybe it’s all an illusion, a frilly mane, an hourglass shape, and narrow antennae that mimic the shape of human arms, waving lonely sailors into the water, only to realize too late the bioluminescent patterns of lipstick and pert breasts are to distract from what lies behind them - viselike jaws and row after row of stiletto teeth.
or maybe it’s all soft tissue, the gelatinous bell of a jellyfish folded into a pleasing shape, luring the unwary down to be caught up in a tail that is nothing more than thousands of barbed lines of stinging neurotoxin cells.
or it could be that the tail goes deep into a shadowy well, and the beautiful woman is a mask for a single enormous jaw, the internal skeleton just the endless spine and ribs of a vast and hungry sea snake.
or, perhaps most terrifyingly, the face is real but not the face of the eyes looking out of it - a human mask for an intelligence both cold and calculating, wearing an inviting smile to bring you within reach of the dagger behind it’s back. waiting to slice the skin off of you because it needs a new disguise, because it is shaped like you but does not look like you, because it must pass as you so it can go among you, so that by starlight it may go on land and into town, where your kin are sleeping, unsuspecting.
Jesus Christ back up a minute buddy
I am 100% on board with eldritch horror mermaids.
Can I set up something to just reblog this every time I see it? Like automatically? Because this is perfect and I love this.
Like I needed more reasons to be afraid of deep water..
My phobia of the ocean thanks you.
Dont be afraid , theres always a bigger fish that eats mermaids .